Annelena L.

Evocative and Thought-Provoking

Revisado: 07-13-21

Not sure how and why I came across this title but it was a listen that met me in the exact right moment.

Olivia Laing's clear-eyed and open-hearted analysis of the work of seminal thinkers and artists and activists, took me places I didn't expect. And in the ship-wrecked wake of 2020/21's storms of tragedy and rage and cruelty and sadness, this listen reminded me of the intractable power of connectedness and genuine humanity. The excellent narration by Elizabeth Sastre served the work beautifully. This is a listen I'll return to when my soul could use a booster shot.

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Great, engaging storytelling

Revisado: 09-19-19 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Really interesting story that's so well-narrated by Greg Littlefield - he marries a deft touch for lightness and humor with an appropriate gravity for the material. Such a pleasurable listen!

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Utterly Engrosssing

Revisado: 09-15-19

A detailed, remarkable, and beautifully reported He Done It. And it's a compelling listen, so well narrated by Rebecca Lowman and the authors themselves.

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Predictable storytelling

Revisado: 03-24-18

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This book was recommended to me and I should have read into the reviews more closely to have saved myself the disappointment of expectations.

This was perfectly average as a read. The writing is solid and inoffensive. It may be that I've encountered too many other, better stories set against this WWII, resistance background. The relationships and characterizations felt trite, and actions didn't feel organic so much as necessary to move the storytelling forward. I'm not surprised to learn it's being developed as a movie as it read like a series of set pieces for a big mainstream historical romance. I know that holds wide appeal so this review is meant for others like me who aren't the target audience for big mainstream historical romances.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The last two chapters were utterly unsurprising - formulaic in who shows up where, when, and what it all portends.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narration was fine. I didn't find the read very engaging, just a matter of taste, but it was undoubtedly professional.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No. Maybe I'd watch it when it aired on cable down the road, on a day I'm home sick.

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Perfect narration, haunting story, MADDENING MUSIC

Revisado: 03-28-17

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The entrance and exit music!! SO FRUSTRATING!! I realize the big publishers often do this - but it's insulting to the listener (we can't figure out the book is starting? We can't figure out it just ended?) and it robs the final moments in particular from really landing. I want to hear the narrator provide the closure without being led by the hand musically.

Do you think Oryx and Crake needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It has them and I'm looking forward to listening but I'm dreading the stupid opening music over the first few sentences and I'm REALLY dreading the end music over the final lines of the book.

Any additional comments?

Campbell Scott did a tremendous, moving job with his performance. And Atwood's book is riveting - as good as it gets. I read it when it first came out and it stayed with me all these years. And listening to the audiobook was a real pleasure (music aside).

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Such great writing

Revisado: 11-28-16

Any additional comments?

Another terrific outing by French. The characters are completely engaging and the story is compelling. I was really taken with some of the secondary characters, such as Lucy and Rory. Very well fleshed out. I had some reservations with Fay's narration. There were some really lovely and moving moments. But I also found the pacing very slow. At one point I sped up to 1.5 - something I've never done before listening to an audiobook - because I couln't focus on what was happening. I kept drifting off during the read. There were times I couldn't follow which character was talking and had to replay a few times to sort if out from context. But all in all, really enjoyable listen.

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Gorgeous storytelling

Revisado: 11-05-16

If you could sum up Broken Harbor in three words, what would they be?

Smart, convincing, heartbreaking

What did you like best about this story?

Utterly engaging storytelling.

Without giving anything up (I hope), those several moments I suspected I'd have to force a suspension-of-disbelief to remain as crazy-invested in the story as I was - i.e. why would a character do this?/think this?/say this? - were all ultimately satisfied for me in grounded and meaningful ways. At about the midpoint of the novel, I guessed how the tale would probably spin out, so the various resolutions of storylines were not a complete surprise. But to my delight, the ending still intrigued me. Tana French built and supported her characters in such a way that I believed their motivations and was affected by what happened.

French has a remarkable, sensitive instinct for primary and secondary characters' needs and motivations, so her story feels authentic . . . organic. And her knack for building suspense is off-the-charts.

It's a riveting tale, expertly told.

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

Brilliant job. I have a quibble or two about the rendering of female characters but they pale against his tremendous narrative skills. It was a joy to listen to him narrate this story. I suspect I'll return to it down the road for a listen, mostly so I can hear him bring these complicated characters to life - in particular, Richie and Connor, Quigley and,indelibly, Scorcher.

What a "grand" listen.

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