Janis

Searing, wrenching and gripping

Revisado: 08-16-16

This book deals with a story so horrific that it is hard to hear and comprehend, yet told with a real beauty of its prose, and with so many truly human and good people that it is almost impossible to even take a break in listening. If you can take a very difficult topic, child sexual abuse, then I would say listen. It is not particularly graphic but feels very real, which is hard to take at times.
Counterbalancing this are the many good people, all richly described and a life that could seem very good, even happy in many ways for our main character Jude. So the structure of this novel creates a full immersion in his life and it results in the listener experiencing the enormous complexity of his life.
The reader is magnificent and I rarely felt the sections lag.
It has been one of the most heart wrenching books that I've ever listened to, but I would highly recommend to others.

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Total Immersion in Pagford

Revisado: 04-15-13

Would you listen to The Casual Vacancy again? Why?

I enjoyed the book, which was long, but slowly developed the many characters' stories and had humor, darkness, pain, woven through the entire tale. Once I got into the rhythm of the novel, I eagerly returned to each listening session. As long as you understand it is not a quick moving linear story you should enjoy. I haven't read the Harry Potter books and was intrigued to read an adult novel of this very successful author. I would definitely recommend.

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Wonderful Family Saga Set in Burma and Malaysia

Revisado: 11-01-11

This is a big story written by one of my favorite authors, Amitav Ghosh. He gives the full sweep of history in this region in the 20th century, starting with the end of Burmese royalty, the movement of Indians into the culture of Burma, the horrendous toll of suffering and displacement during WW II, ending with the restrictive political climate of the new "Myanmar". It is told through the intertwined families of the book, a large and intertwined lot. I loved the attention to the characters, and the coming together of many different family connections that span the generations. The characters are quite unique, and the woman are very independent. Ghosh is a great story teller and I would recommend his other books as well. The book's length and detail draw you in, the narrator is very good and brings all the characters alive. It is not a book for someone looking for a fast moving plot, but there is a lot of drama throughout the novel and a fascinating book for a good, long listening experience.

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esto le resultó útil a 14 personas

Intriguing mysterious historical fiction

Revisado: 11-19-08

This book tells two tales - a modern story of polygamy and mystery, and a view into the early days of polygamy as the Morman Church was first founded. The historical story is lightened by the modern one which has more twists of mystery and danger. I found it to be style that worked. There are 4 readers for this book, which also makes it quite interesting. It is long and involved, but if the subject intrigues you, you will be drawn in.

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esto le resultó útil a 7 personas

Excellent historical novel

Revisado: 11-19-08

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - a great story which gives the reader a fascinating look at the early years of Frank Lloyd Wright . It also gave me a good sense of the society and feminism in the early 20th century. The book is apparently very well researched and feels quite realistic. I recommend this highly!

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

A Crime Story for the Rest of Us

Revisado: 03-31-08

This is such a great book! I never read crime novels, but saw that the NY Times gave this a "Bear in Mind" review, which means they liked it. The story has such depth in its descriptions of the people - all the people that are involved with the crime - the family, the victims, and the police who try their best to solve this. Although there is tension to the plot, that is not really the whole point - this author is creating a feel for the characters and the setting. The reading is excellent, and I found this to be a very enjoyable and engaging book - something I wanted to listen to as much as I could, as fast as I could!

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esto le resultó útil a 15 personas

Janis

Revisado: 02-07-08

I loved this book! Entirely captivating and the reading brings you right into the characters. He uses Spanish in a very different way than I've ever experienced before - and this book would be a particular delight if you understand Spanish. It's a crazy story but one that you will enjoy listening to.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Excellent!

Revisado: 01-17-07

I really enjoyed this book - it gives a perspective on the writer, Vikram Seth, and is a compelling story about the lives of 2 very different people, brought together by a war. The format is the letters of Shanti and Henny to each other, and their friends. It gives a very realistic view of what life was like during and after the war as well, which was very unsettling - to see the effects on ordinary people. If you like memoirs, you should like this book. The reading is also done very well, with 3 different readers contributing.

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esto le resultó útil a 8 personas

Excellent book

Revisado: 08-16-06

This book gave me a much better understanding of Julia Child's background and how she developed her expertise in cooking. I had always been aware of Julia as an American, and now I realize how thoroughly she was involved with France and French cooking. The book also gives a very interesting account of the development of their cookbook and how the push to be a celebrity chef was already happening in the 1970's before the Food Channel!
I agree with the previous reviewer that the narrator's french was not always pronounced properly, but I found the narration pleasant and easy to listen to. I would highly recommend this book to foodies and francophiles.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

A Captivating Listen

Revisado: 06-04-06

This book is marvelous- funny, depressing at times (especially if you are getting older), with characters wonderfully alive, and fully described. It's the perfect far-reaching novel with a full story for every character and will make you long to spend more time in your car, if you listen on the way to work. Particularly brilliant and disturbing is Franzen's ability to capture the increasing debility and decline in the father figure. The book will stay with you for quite some time after you are done. The reader captures the various voices very well. Highly recommend this book.

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