bill klibanow

Very Disappointed!

Revisado: 05-11-19

I came in really expecting to like this book. After all, I’ve raised two beloved golden retrievers from puppyhood and am about to embark on a third. I am extremely awed by the talents and dedication of working dogs and The Search Dog Foundation is one of my favorite charities.

But, oh my, did this leave me flat! It had its moments but, honestly, I couldn’t wait for it to end. I can’t really give the details of why I feel this way because I don’t want to give away the story. But let’s just say that I felt very manipulated by the author. And, like the old story they used to say about “Seinfeld”, this was a story about nothing.

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Good, but not Wodehouse’s best

Revisado: 03-10-19

I enjoyed it, but it was very complicated even for PG Wodehouse. I thought it was a little hard to follow and the plot twists were not quite as clever as other works of his I’ve read. I think I’ve been spoiled by the Jeeves series. Jonathan Cecil, as always, was outstanding.

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Outstanding!

Revisado: 12-17-18

One of Wodehouse’s best. And narrator Jonathan Cecil’s work is also (as usual) superb. His voices, his intonation and his timing all add so much to the story. It was a real treat!

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The narration was awful!

Revisado: 12-13-18

This particular work was not up to the usual high standards of Wodehouse. But to make matters far worse, the narrator was grating throughout. And sometimes his voices and the acting and the timing were downright amateurish (Rockmettler and his mother, e.g. sounded like poor high school performances). I don’t recommend this book (but definitely recommend other Wodehouse works, and the outstanding narrations of Jonathan Cecil!)

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Jonathan Cecil is the best!

Revisado: 11-07-18

PG Wodehouse is always entertaining, and this book is no exception. But nowhere in the world of audiobooks have I encountered a reader who so enhances a book with his talents. The combination of Wodehouse and Cecil is magnificent!

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Just OK

Revisado: 04-24-18

I guess Penelope Lively spoiled me with “How it All Began” (and also Katherine Kellgren spoiled me with her reading of it). But these short stories left me a little flat and though Davina Porter is clearly a very talented reader, I felt she was sometimes unable to create enough distinctions between characters, making it hard to always tell who was talking at that particular moment.

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'twas an endless whine!

Revisado: 07-14-16

What disappointed you about 'Tis?

All I can say after listening to this book is: Wah-wah-wah!

I know that the immigrant experience can be difficult but all you get from Frank McCourt in this book is one never-ending whine, even when things go his way. I grew to strongly dislike the character (Frank himself) and could not wait for it to end.

When I finished it, I read this portion of a review by Brooke Allen, which sums up my own feelings about the book:

"McCourt had a few setbacks in his early years; life can never be easy for a new immigrant, even in booming postwar America. But looked at objectively his progress seems to have been pretty smooth. He began with menial jobs, then, thanks to his American passport (he had been born in the United States), joined the military, serving for a short stint in Germany. This entitled him to take advantage of the GI Bill. He had never attended high school, but he was lucky enough to come across a generous and broad-minded administrator at New York University who allowed him to matriculate there, on the sole condition that he maintain a B average for the first year—not exactly a bum deal. Not only that but the prettiest girl in his class, Alberta (called Mike) Small, the blonde Episcopalian girlfriend of a football star, found the young Irishman (despite the rotten teeth and chronically infected eyes that made him so self-conscious) attractive enough to date, sleep with, and finally marry.

"But in spite of this run of what most people would call good luck—or at any rate hard work rewarded—McCourt tells his story as one long litany of gripes . . . "

Enough said.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Yes, Frank McCourt's narration was well done.

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Excellent narration

Revisado: 02-11-16

Tavia Gilbert did a fine job on the narration, particularly her excellent portrayal of 9 year old Frank. For me, the story was just so-so but her performance sustained my interest.

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Highly recommended

Revisado: 04-16-15

The three readers were outstanding as readers and actresses. The story was gripping throughout. It was well worth the read.

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