Either C, or D.

Wendig is worth listening

Revisado: 07-27-22

Chuck Wendig has an fun unprententious pulpy sensibility and an ever present sly and occassionally (and unapologetically) adolescent sense of humor. He's an inventive witty writer, I used to think was under thw mainstream radar a but I think the world has started to catch on to how special wendig actually is. This is a penetrating direct opionated discussion of the nuts and bolts of writing that aims to keep readers engaged. I have no idea what wendigs real voice is like but Patrick Lawlor is <perfect> for him... he captures wendig's wise-alecky articulate smart sarcastic and playful voice in a way thats hard to imagine improved.

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Great Lecturer, Great Course.

Revisado: 10-26-16

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The Enlightenment is an inherenlty fascinating period as Europe shakes off the mental shackles of centuries of scholasticism and discovers/invents the tools to unleash astounding progress in every sphere of learning. This course was an excellent introduction to the period, stressing: introduction. Lecture topics typically focus on an individual thinker or two and of course someone like Descartes has enough depth to merit an entire university course rather than a single lecture. But as found here, the lectures are not dumbed down or oversimplified. The course promises an overview and it delivers. Kors is a brisk no-nonsense lecturer, enthusiastic, very up-beat and pleasant, a man obviously in love with his subject, who delivers crisp, well-conceived, well-organized lectures in a clear style (and a rather thick Jersey -- or was it Brooklyn? -- accent). I found him truly a pleasure to listen to. You need a college vocabulary at times, and he doesn't spoon feed. So Kors for example will say "Voltaire's Dr. Pangloss -- all talk -- " without explantion of the connection between 'Pangloss' and 'all talk' -- you either got it, or not. But I was never confused nor do I think an average college educated listener will be. What I most enjoyed and least expected in this course was the way Kors illuminated things about the Enlightenment I thought I already understood. So, for example, I thought I knew what the scientific method was, but I appreciate if far better now having heard Kors lecture on Francis Bacon's New Organon. Kors doesn't do much direct quotation from his sources, I wanted to hear a little more of the actual words of the great minds being discussed. But the few quotes he does share seem very well chosen. Kepler's effusions when he grasps that planets in elliptical orbits aren't complete bullshit (his initial reaction to them!) but perfect expressions of harmonious mathematical relationships, are an early high point. When the course was over, I wanted to listen again.

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A fun stylish imperfect noir

Revisado: 04-12-14

Any additional comments?

This is an enjoyable listen. Kenneth Fearing, who was a fine poet (and a drunk and a marxist) turns out to have had an excellent touch with fiction. The pleasures here are in voice and attitude as well as in the various portraits, some more detailed than others, of various mid-century new yorkers -- chain-smoking drunk-at-midday spouse-cheating 50s noir new yorkers. The writing is better than the story deserves. It's a slow developing murder story that leaves our protagonist in what should be a terrible bind -- but it lacks any suspense -- and the psychology behind the characters and situation becomes strained as well. The story ultimately resolves rather abruptly and without any punch.
But the narrative faults, which are not apparent until at least 2/3rds of the way, don't kill the book. It's worth a listen. The main character, George Stroud -- jaded, sardonic, self-contained -- is a very dry martini in human form. He's good company on an overcast day. Joe Barrets voice seemed too raspy to me at first, but he seemed to have a very good grasp of the characters, particularly Stroud, and brought them effectively to life. His performance grew on me steadily throughout the book.

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Ironic masterwork made vivid by brilliant reading

Revisado: 03-23-14

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

A fantastic difficult book that is not without flaws but that must be read. The comedy of the first few chapters (and the final chapters) is matchless. But Nabokov also carries us to darker waters. There is more than one book in Lolita -- there's satire and tragedy and even social philosophy. While all the while the language dazzles.

What other book might you compare Lolita to and why?

Long before Lolita, and continuing to this day -- there is a minor European literature devoted to sneering at America... most of it perpetrated by pompous bores such as Jean Baudrillard with little to say about anything but themselves. But Nabakov, ever original, turns that whole literature on its head, giving us in Humbert Humbert a European transplant of magnificent effete depravity, a parody of himself and european self-importance even as he bears witness to the stupidities and vulgarities of America. It changes everything when the little man at the foot of the giant roadside lumberjack is the more absurd of the pair!

What does Jeremy Irons bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Jeremy Irons does not merely read the text but gives a tireless and meticulous performance. He seems intent on wringing every nuance from Humbert's mad monologue. It is not a reading but an act of interpretive art delivered at the highest level. It is a gift to us. I have never written a performer fan mail but I intend to write Mr. Irons one for this performance. I hope this doesn't make it seem Mr. Irons' performance was overwrought; it is nothing like that. It is a miracle of restraint and intelligence.

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