Art Maker

Powerful story of a tragic love affair

Revisado: 07-07-23

Exceptional writing and a gripping story line with principals that you really care about, hope for, and finally pity for their untenable circumstances. The reading by Iwuji is absolutely top notch, his lyric rendering equal to what he did for Obioma’s THE FISHERMEN. Bravos all around! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Kay sirra, sirra

Revisado: 05-15-19

The story is familiar, and told from the perspectives of the women of the New York School, it bears revisiting, though there's inevitably a disproportionately wide spotlight on the men, yet again. The book situates art world developments within the greater social, cultural and political circumstances of the times, a plus. What's annoying here is the narrator's weak grasp on correct pronunciations of many European names - someone should have coached her in this regard. Her French is especially rocky. It injects the wrong kind of humorous note in the listening experience.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

The truth, the whole truth....

Revisado: 06-25-17

Difficult, horrifying, very sad, but an expertly researched and necessary account of how American capitalism grew out of a system of torture and dominance whose effects we continue to live with and seem a long way from resolving.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Words matter

Revisado: 05-07-17

Thoroughly satisfying, this "biography" or cultural history of English leaves few stones unturned in exploring the sources of the language, its evolution and permutations, and its continuing evolution. The reading by Robert Powell does near complete justice to Melvyn Bragg's deeply researched text. The only shortfall for Powell is his poor French pronunciations; some irony in that.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

The world according to Thomas Cromwell

Revisado: 02-25-10

Hilary Mantel has created an entirely evocative and compelling portrait of Thomas Cromwell and the historic figures with whom he rubbed elbows, strategized and connived, and did the King's bidding. He is depicted as a highly complex character, worldly and pragmatic, intelligent and cunning, and very much in control of his corner of the world. The sensibility is very modern although the depiction of Tudor England is convincing and detailed. What I most appreciated about this book - in fact loved very much (apart from the unique perspective it takes in presenting the story through Cromwell's eyes) was Simon Slater's brilliant reading. It is spot on in terms of how he gives voice to each of the many characters, and the timbre of his voice is perfectly in sync with the rhythms of Mantel's writing. This is by far one of the best matches of narrator's voice and story that I've yet listened to. The story is dense with interweaving lives and dramas and a long list of characters, so that keeping track of all of them is a challenge. I referred to the physical book throughout the entire period - several months - when I was listening to it on my drive to and from work. Now I've begun listening to it a second time, with the characters more clearly identified and organized in my head, and with their stories more understandable. This book is an achievement on many levels and it's clear why it won the Man Booker Prize. If there were Academy Awards for "best narrator" Simon Slater should get it. He "acts" the voices in a way that's almost cinematic. In fact, throughout I found myself seeing the story as film, and hoping that one day I'll be able to watch it as a multi-part Masterpiece Theater series, or something like that. It'll no doubt see the big screen as it deserves to.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 52 personas

Challenging listening

Revisado: 05-06-08

This audiobook is challenging though fascinating listening. The exploration of how we use language to represent our social, psychic and physical worlds is well researched and often surprising and amusing. It's rather difficult to keep one's concentration given the complexity of many of the ideas and theories presented here. I've often wished I was reading the actual text, to see the words and technical jargon on the printed page. There do seem to be gaps in the narrative, and I plan to go to the hard copy version of the book now that I've finished listening. Worth the effort, though, for the insights it offers on how we process language to negotiate the worlds we live in.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 9 personas