Trish

Brilliant novel

Revisado: 01-14-24

I’ve been listening to this brilliant novel while I’m in the hospital recovering from major surgery. My attention span is not what it usually is, so I have to backtrack a bit every time I listen. But this book has given me the wonderful gift of something to look forward to every day. Each story of the inhabitants of the house (that house is as fluid a thing as the woods that surround it) is fascinating, full of historical detail, yet absolutely modern and never judgmental of the characters with one exception—the hunting lodge dude, who deserves it. The last story, of a young woman, who would be roughly my age at the present moment—sort of, but I can’t explain that without spoilers—was both unexpected and powerful. Like the best loose, baggy monster novels of th 19th century, Mason’s text mixes written and speech genres exceptionally
well. I loved every minute. The cast of readers was great too.

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Traveling through the golden age, and now

Revisado: 11-08-23

Picked this title up because I loved Wheeler’s Antarctica book. The form is similar: part travelogue, part history, part literary appreciation, part autobiography—all with Wheeler’s wit and, this time, melancholy. Something has happened—we are not told what, and that’s fine, and her business—but whatever it is, it mixes with the sadnesses and strange humor of the lives of Russian writers of the golden age and more contemporary citizens of both the Soviet Union and Putin’s Russia. New notes here are culinary history, struggles with language(s), and Wheeler’s family. I love the writers she visits, and had quite forgotten how much, but now I’m going to read Chekhov again. Thank you Sara Wheeler. I am too old and decrepit to go myself, but I can think of no better guide to the lives of these writers.

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Such lovely stories

Revisado: 07-24-23

Herriot books are perfect bedtime listens. The stories bring the Yorkshire landscape and its lovely funny people and animals alive. I well remember Christopher Timothy in the old television series, and hearing his voice seems very appropriate. The one thing I found odd and alienating: the bursts of music that go on too long and are nearly random—they don’t suit the tone of the narrative and they interrupt stories rather than bridge transitions. It’s so odd. The more modern recordings narrated by Nicholas Ralph are better produced. I do prefer them, but I also enjoy the older recordings.

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Fascinating and harrowing

Revisado: 07-03-23

Well-written saga of the Karluk and those who survived the shipwreck (and some who didn’t). As the narrator says, there is a hero in this story and there is a narcissistic villain. There are echoes of these 2 in the crew and staff. Shackleton is so much heralded as the best kind of leader, but Bartlett is nowhere near as well known. He should be. Enjoyed this one a lot, and will be thinking of it for a long time.

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Clever Raynal; engrossing tales

Revisado: 06-27-23

Enjoyed this set of Auckland Island shipwreck tales immensely. It is a study in contrasts between two groups, one which pulled together to survive, and the other which disintegrated into a kind of madness. I was most intrigued by the sailor Raynal of the former, whose ingenuity extended to building a forge to create hardware needed for the building of a boat to make their escape, to the design of the boat itself, to the creation of a tannery and manufacture of shoes from the leather he tanned, to the making of sorely needed soap. The author works from his narrative as well as that of Captain Musgrave. The narrator has a pleasant voice. Highly recommended.

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Enjoyable and full of engaging dial information

Revisado: 12-25-22

Ball weaves together the stories of 2 men who in many ways could not be more dissimilar, but the convergence of their stories produced what we later would know as the cinema. Their stories touch on class, wealth and power and its abuses, racism, engineering and art, and while we are at it, a murder (to me, the least interesting part of the book—but I can see how it’s wound around the rest. I’m a film historian so I have a vested interest here. Not an academic text, can be enjoyed by all. The narrator’s voice was pleasant and clear.

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Brilliant

Revisado: 05-17-22

Such a life. And such an extraordinary mother. And mother and son, living through times so hard most of us cannot imagine, with grace and humor and flaws and tenacity. Noah helps us to feel what it was like.

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Engrossing

Revisado: 04-20-22

As an avid listener to stories of ships, I enjoyed this well-researched narrative. The reader is excellent. The author balances the strangeness of this true story with textures and details and great sympathy for sole survivor Thomas Nye. It’s amazing that he survived. I usually let audio books lull me to sleep at night, but I had to stay awake for this one since I did not want to leave Mr. Nye out on the North Atlantic in his tiny boat. Highly recommended.

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Great lectures!

Revisado: 03-23-22

Ever since the 5th grade when Mrs. Lafferty made us go to the front of the classroom and trace the routes of explorers with a pointer on the big pull-down ma- of the world, I’ve been hooked. The lectures in this series were for the most part excellent. I learned about some expeditions for the first time, and for others, there were frequently some new tidbits of information. The lecturer also referred back to the other lectures and kept some general issues going that made the series cohere. He clearly cares a lot about his subject, and I enjoyed his performance quite a bit.

However—I don’t know enough to know if there are factual errors, but there was one that bothered me, though it’s mostly because I’m obsessed with the Antarctic expeditions. Four men did not die in Scott’s tent at the end of the polar journey on the Terra Nova expedition. 3 did. Before Oates walked out of the tent, sacrificing himself for the good of the rest, Edgar Evans died. He was the first to die, near the foot of the Beardmore Glacier, having sustained a concussion and in pretty bad shape from the journey and the man hauling and the cold and privations. I’m not splitting hairs here, just wish to honor Evans memory with getting it right. I hope this can be corrected in further editions. The series is well worth your time.

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Dare you not to cry at the end

Revisado: 03-17-22

Read the series years ago, and what a pleasure to return to it, prompted by the television remake. Nicholas Ralph’s narration is wonderful—understated yet warm and rendered with his Scottish lilt. The last 2 chapters, just before Herriot goes off to war, are heartbreakingly lovely. This and All Creatures in Ralph’s narration are highly recommended.

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