beatrice

outstanding pyschological novel

Revisado: 08-13-22

Why had I never heard of Stefan Zweig? I found the NYRB edition of this book in a little free library and decided I'd enjoy it more if it were read to me. Not only was Nicholas Boulton's narration superb, I also preferred Anthea Bell's modern translation over the NYRB translation (by Phyllis and Trevor Blewitt). Win/win. Thanks, Audible!

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a gem

Revisado: 09-08-21

Wanda McCaddon (not Nadia May as per the description) is exemplary. I had previously enjoyed this book with a different reader, but McCaddon can't be beat. Her Kitty is perfectly catty, the comical Dr. Anderson amuses, and McCaddon's quick-as-thought narration conveys multiple levels of meaning. Brilliant debut novel by Rebecca West—I wish more of her work were available in audiobook form. There were a couple breaks in the narration that were distracting, but this audiobook was included with my subscription so I can't really complain.

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love Olivia Williams

Revisado: 03-13-19

When Mrs. Smith describes Nurse Rooke as "a shrewd, intelligent, sensible woman... sure to have something to relate that is entertaining and profitable: something that makes one know one's species better," I thought, well, that's what Jane Austen does so admirably. And Williams, herself shrewd and entertaining, is an admirable narrator.

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queer as folk

Revisado: 07-28-15

Not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of crazy in these pages, acutely observed. Funny and excruciating, like people, like life. I think I liked this book of short stories better than July's novel The First Bad Man, because the crazy comes in smaller packages.

The Audible app is a must for this book, as you can set it to stop at the end of a chapter, and I'm not sure how else the listener could know that one story had ended and another was beginning--the stories are of different length, and July doesn't pause significantly between stories, or give any other indication of a transition.

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a bit silly

Revisado: 09-05-13

Imagine two columns, Column A headed "yes, please" and Column B headed "no, thanks." When you think about what you enjoy in an audiobook, into which column would you place each of the following?

—knights and swordplay
—made-up languages
—ritual barbarian sex
—animals with preternatural powers
—fantastic buildings with inconceivable supply and waste-removal systems
—dragons
—zombies
—teenaged and pre-teen heroes and heroines in adult roles
—wenches and whores
—blood, LOTS of blood

I had thought I was up for all of the above. In my youth, my Tolkein paperbacks were limp from exhaustive rereading. More recently, I've been a fan of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. However, 33 hours of irony-free fantasy proved too much for this listener. Around hour 25, when bastard Jon Snow saves Lord Jeor from a midnight attack by a wight assassin, he is rewarded for his courage by being given the sword of Valyrian steel (whoo-hoo!) that has been passed from father to son in Jeor's family for five centuries. While part of me was busy noting the emotional significance of this gesture for Jon and calculating its implications for the plot...I also found myself giggling at the sword's name (for the record: Longclaw). Am I the only person who finds this epic story a bit silly?

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Forster's first novel, and it shows

Revisado: 09-03-13

The synthesis of thought and feeling that makes Forster's later work so compelling is missing here, and the storyline descends into bathos (I literally rolled my eyes during the scene with the Baby's milk). I almost wish I hadn't read this book, because now I keeping thinking I detect untrammeled sentimentality around the edges of scenes in other books by Forster, like when you keep thinking you smell something bad after you actually have. Edward Petherbridge reads expressively but even less intelligibly than he did for Howard's End, which make this somewhat confusing story even harder to follow.

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tireless observer

Revisado: 07-31-13

After I listened to the book, Hubby and I streamed the movie. Afterwards:
Hubby: When was the book written?
Me: About a hundred years ago.
Hubby: It seems so modern!
That's Forster for you. He watches people, and understands their prejudices and passions, and gets it down in writing. And though society changes, and the nature of the pressures it exerts on people changes, human nature is just the same as it was 100 years ago. As a man with secret passions, Forster knew his material inside and out.
Wanda McCaddon is an excellent narrator. Sometimes women's voices are too brassy for male characters, and I was concerned that McCaddon's voice would be distracting, but her inflections are so convincing that this was not an issue. I would definitely choose her again.

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major fun

Revisado: 07-13-13

If you enjoy Gaiman and Pratchett, as I do, here you go—two for the price of one, a deal not to be missed (I could hear them each in my head, in different parts of the story). Could I give Martin Jarvis deserves 6 stars for his performance, I would. He keeps the multitude of voices distinct, and channels the wry humor of the Gaiman/Pratchett team marvelously.

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read this, then watch the movie

Revisado: 07-13-13

Wonderful stuff about money and privilege—who's got it, who hasn't, and what consequences follow. Though Forster's work is challenging to narrate because it is so dialogue-heavy, Petherbridge reads expressively and well, and I was rarely confused as to who was speaking. My only complaint about Petherbridge's narration is that sometimes his voice sinks to a whisper unintelligible to the dogwalker or commuter, and sometimes difficult to understand even by a bedtime listener.

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what a downer

Revisado: 04-11-13

I finally realized why I don't enjoy the talented and accomplished Simon Vance as a narrator: his voice strikes me as chilly, even though I realize he might in real life be the warmest-hearted person I could ever hope to meet. But what this meant for my "Bring Up the Bodies" listen is that I was left wondering if Hilary Mantel was telling the story of a man (Cromwell) corrupted by power, who had lost some of his human qualities—or if it was just that Simon Slater (for Book One of the series) was better able to express Cromwell's tenderness and regrets. I couldn't tell if Cromwell had changed, or if I was just confused by the change in narrator. Also, while "Wolf Hall" chronicles the rise of the plucky Cromwell and equally plucky Anne Boleyn, and it's the icky Thomas More who loses his head, in "BUtB" it's the demure (and less fascinating) Jane Seymour whose star is rising, and it's hard not to feel sorry for the innocent and/or naive courtiers who end up paying the ultimate price when Cromwell starts calling in accounts. Despite the excellent writing and narration, I didn't enjoy this audiobook as much as its predecessor.

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