Katlyn

Good Book, Bad Narration

Revisado: 10-27-23

I have mixed feelings on The Indifferent Stars Above, mostly due to the source material itself, and due to no fault on the part of the author. It was an incredibly frustrating listen because the Donner Party continually made poor decisions. They left a month too late, despite the guide they were following warning them not to leave after a certain point. Additionally, took a horrible shortcut despite being warned otherwise on multiple occasions. Not only that, but they sent out a group of people to rescue them, but didn’t equip them with a compass, so they got horribly lost. Their decision to eat people occurred way sooner than it likely should have, but I was honestly okay with that as long as they were eating the dead. I mean rescuing their loved ones was a noble cause. However, then they murdered two Aboriginal men sent to help them so they could eat them as well, justifying it because they were “inferior” and then had the gall to accept help from other Aboriginal groups! Completely hypocritical and immoral, yet they still seemed to think they were in the right.

I say seemed because that’s actually one of my problems with this book. There’s not a proper narrative because our protagonist, Sarah, has not left behind a documentary record. I understand that the author saw her picture and really wanted to write a book about her, but we’re constantly told about what Sarah “likely” felt and I found it kind of jarring. We cannot tell what she thought, only what she did. I thought it was odd that the author used her as a protagonist when Patrick Breen actually wrote a journal and could have provided a proper narrative. It was incredibly difficult to connect to the people involved as we heard very little from them themselves. That in itself isn’t a fault of the author though, as he was working with limited resources.

There are, of course, good aspects of The Indifferent Stars Above. I particularly liked how vividly the author was able to paint a scene. He had a lovely way of going into the detail about certain aspects of the time, such as exploring other happenings around the time the book took place, such as the Industrial Revolution or what was going on in England. We also got accounts of other situations involving cannibalism, explanations of what happens during hypothermia, and other interesting asides. He also seems to have done extensive research on the Donner Party itself, and what happened to all the members after they were rescued.

I’m mentioning this last because it’s not a problem with the book itself, but the audiobook in particular. The narrator was dreadful. I’m not normally someone who is picky about narration, but he had the most monotonous ever. It made the book seem very dull at times, even when he was covering interesting topics. Evidently, even the slightest bit of inflection was entirely out of his power. I was honestly tempted to return it, but I was past the return window.

Overall, I would recommend The Indifferent Stars Above. Just don’t buy the audiobook! FYI, I rate books entirely based on my opinion, not on the “quality” of the book, which is hard to judge when reading a nonfiction book on a topic I was previously unfamiliar with. 3.25/5 October 27 2023

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Cute, but not worth a re-read

Revisado: 09-30-15

If you could sum up Jane and Austen in three words, what would they be?

Cute, dull, odd

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Well the fact that many characters were Jane Austen counterparts was... interesting. A bit odd as it was never explained. The least interesting was all the dullness in the middle.

Which scene was your favorite?

I must admit I really liked the scenes between Jane and Dancey at first! So cute!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not particularly. It made me laugh at points, but did not make me cry.

Any additional comments?

I've only read two of Jane Austen's books (both of which I loved!) so maybe this would appeal more to die hard Austen fans. Also, I'm not typically a huge fan of books where romance is the main theme so I am obviously not the target audience! Perhaps others would like it more!

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Cute YA romance with tons of drama!

Revisado: 09-20-15

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

It depends on the friend and their view of drama, because this book has tons of it! If they liked the genre, then certainly!

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I liked seeing Louisiana and its culture, as I have never been there. Also, I loved her new friendships! Even more than the romance actually. The ending however was so cheesy! It's just so... perfectly wrapped up and the dialogue seemed fake.

Have you listened to any of Meghan Kelly’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have never. I actually expected her voice to be too.... mature for a YA book based on listening to some of her other book previews, but it was actually quite soothing as others have said.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not particularly. I did of course, laugh, because some parts were pretty fun, However, it hasn't stuck around in my head and didn't make me cry.

Any additional comments?

Cute book! Not entirely what I am into because I couldn't really get immersed in the book, but it was entertaining and I got through it quickly! Oh, and I was given a copy by the narrator in exchange for an honest review, and this did not impact my review in any way.

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