Robert J Frith

Bit of a plodder

Revisado: 05-06-23

There are some great passages but on the whole it was a pretty straight, chronological tale of a Londoner, William Thornbill, who is transported as a convict. Most of the characters are one dimensional. The idea that Thornbill's wife is transported as well and becomes his boss when he is ticketed seemed a bit of a stretch, but what do I know, perhaps this happened?

The beginning of the book drags and the last couple of chapters feel rushed and sentimental. The rift between Thornbill and his son would seem ripe for some exploration... but... nothing.

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Hard Boiled Carey

Revisado: 11-22-18

I have loved pretty much everything of Carey's that I've read but I put off grabbing this title for a couple of years due to the average reviews here on Audible.
Why did I wait??!!?? This is a wonderful book well read by Colin Friels.

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Wonderful, bleak and raw

Revisado: 10-18-18

It's been a while since I read any Faulkner and this book is probably quite unlike his style but somehow his name kept lurching into my head as I listened.
This is an incredible piece of character development. Eilleen, told in hindsight in the first person, is the story of a young woman with some pretty full on self esteem issues, a morbid fashion sense and an admin job in a juvenile detention centre in the mid '60's.
It's also a cliffhanger with tension building subtly from the outset. Overall it's the best read I've had in a year :-) the reader wasn't to my liking but the story is so powerful it shone through.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

A joy

Revisado: 09-23-15

An addictive read. Unlike other reviewers I didn't struggle with the alienspeak at all. It was an entertaining read with laugh out loud moments. Sometimes it brought to mind the film "Coneheads", sometimes Nazi Germany!
All in all a great mix of humour, aggression and cultural confrontation. Pat ending but you get that, and to be honest the meat is in the language and concepts not the plot.

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Astonishing

Revisado: 09-23-15

Guterson is everything a writer should be. This story is deep and wide. Characters are revealed bit by bit as he delves into their past. He draws in the influence of WW2, ten years past in this story, as well as the cultural tensions of a Pacific NW island in a narrative centred around the murder trial of a fisherman. On top of an incredible tapestry of personalities and history he layers a freak storm that takes the town to it's limits.

It's beautifully read by Peter Marinker who does a great job of bringing each character their own voice without getting too special. For a guy with a relatively gruff voice his treatment of female characters is particularly noteworthy for it's seamless integration.

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Initial promise sold out to repitition

Revisado: 08-17-15

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

I listened to the end ever hopeful that the writing would take a turn for the better. There is so much possibility in the premise, sadly it's promise that goes unrealised.

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

The science behind it was interesting. The idea of of extreme isolation was intersting but inadequatley explored.

Would you listen to another book narrated by R. C. Bray?

Yes. The reader did pretty well, I'd be happy to listen to another.

Was The Martian worth the listening time?

No

Any additional comments?

It's a pretty straight narrative that just follows events chronologically as they unfold. The viewpoint shifts occaisionally between Watney, the crew that left him and Earth control.
Subplots are set up so clumsily and rarely that you see the resolution coming in from a mile out and as I said the review title the endless repitition of insurmountable challenge followed by challenge met wears thin.
The author missed easy opportunities to get some depth to the despair that would inevitably be a part of this journey. Triumph after triumph after triumph just gets dull after a while.

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couldn't put it down...

Revisado: 02-09-12

Just finished this an audiobook, couldn't put it down...
It comes across as a memoir, so convincingly that I was shocked to discover the character's name is Tony Webster (not Julian Barnes). Either that hadn't sunk in or the author had withheld it!
Set resolutely in the English middle class it's of a sad book in a way about a bloke who lives a full life and in his early dotage begins to realise that it maybe hasn't been a fulfilling life. Sounds a bit dull and dreary right? Wrong. It is filled with tension and the sort of unexpected twists that you find in the best Sherlock Holmes stories. The depth and subtlety far exceed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work though.
Some other of Barnes' work has been quite funny. This one has tragedy closely aligned with Greene's writing

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