Allan Futrell

A matter of taste

Revisado: 05-03-23

Aoife McMahon's narration makes this book an enjoyable experience. She does an excellent job of giving what might otherwise be considered a boring story some life. Sally Rooney is clever with the wording, and she writes dialogue well. It would be nice, however, if what the characters say to each other went somewhere. This is billed as a "psychological" novel, but I am unsure why. The plot is straightforward, and few exciting turns or events make it memorable. It isn't easy to understand why this work is a novel rather than a short story. A great deal of redundancy with the two main characters going back and forth in their relationship with little development. But that could just be me; this one is not my cup of tea, but millennials may find it more to their taste.

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Loved the Narrator, but....

Revisado: 12-19-22

If Helen Laser didn't have to do male voices, she would be a great narrator. But even good narration can't save a predictable plot with contrived characters. The book lacks the kind of suspense Turow usually delivers, and he seems to want to include all versions of gender identification but with little or no effect. Hmm, so we have an obvious plot and one-dimensional, straight-from-casting, characters. Some folks may like shallow, formulaic characters parading around in an inevitable plot; if so, this book is for them. But back to Laser, she is outstanding when describing Pinky, whose witty repartee is fun and might even be enough to make the listen worth the time.

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Este libro no enseña español panameño.

Revisado: 11-13-22

This book teaches standard elementary Spanish. If you are looking for a book that teaches the idiosyncracies of Panamanian Spanish, then look elsewhere. The examples in this book do not reflect the variety of grammar, lexicon, or pronunciation found in Panamanian Spanish.

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"You gotta be kiddin' me" surprise

Revisado: 07-17-21

Julia Whelan does a good job of keeping all the characters straight and assuring that the listener knows who is talking when. The story starts out well, and a couple of characters easy to hate slip into the narrative. The big surprise is that the major female characters succumb to manipulation by male characters who tend toward caricature. In the end, it is not so much the lack of character development, but the overplayed naivete and predictability of the characters that dooms what promises to be a fun listen into a "you gotta be kiddin' me" disappointment. Taylor Jenkins Reid displays clever rhetorical and literary techniques, but the creative dimension of the book fails to "rise" above the superficial.

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Good until the last drip

Revisado: 06-08-21

Therese Plummer performs very well and makes the book worth a listen. The story moves along pretty well until we get to the end, which is anything but clever and far from what we have come to expect from the author.

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Well written but predictable

Revisado: 05-16-21

Good writers must be able to put the words on paper in a clever manner as well as have keen imaginations. Baldacci does the former well but is sometimes inconsistent with the latter. This book illustrates that inconsistency. Nevertheless, Ballerini and Presley save the day and make the experience worthwhile.

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Superb Narration of an Imperfect Plot

Revisado: 11-22-20

Michael Beck does a fabulous job, and the book may be worth the credit to hear his narration. I have read or listened to all the Grisham books, and this one is not among the best insofar as the plot is concerned. For me, the ending was very disappointing although I can see how some folks would like it. I just think it drifts too far from the main plot line, which itself seems somewhat unfinished. Indeed, I feel like I am sort of left hanging. Some reviewers suggest that this is a rehash of A Time to Kill, but I believe that is being a bit unfair to the author. He has written a great deal about Ford County and this is another item for that inventory. So yes, there is some redundancy, but it is not the same story. I would be surprised if this is the last time we will encounter Jake Brigance, so if you don't listen to this one you might just wait around a while until he resurfaces with another unlikely case.

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Take a Skip

Revisado: 02-11-19

Usually, I like Baldacci's books, but this one is below par. This book is a good example of how a narrator can make or break the experience. Brittany Pressley entertains, but Kyf Brewer disappoints. All the male characters' voices sound similar, and they all sound like unintelligent thugs. Brittany, on the other hand, is quite good and fortunately does most of the talking. Nevertheless, the story seems somewhat out of Baldacci's range. Not only is it set in a context out of his comfort zone, but the basic premise introduced at the beginning seems to have nothing to do with the rest of the story. I won't spoil it, but if you are looking for a coherent story, smartly constructed, then you might want to take a skip on this one.

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Not a great American novel, but a decent mystery

Revisado: 07-01-18

I wouldn't take the criticisms of the narrators too seriously. OK, Brewer changes Amos's image a bit but Amos is still a likable character. If you wish to criticize the narration you might point out that sometimes Brewer mixes up the voices, but that is not a major problem. On the other hand, I like Cassidy and her range of accents. More to the point, the author does an adequate job of developing the major characters. As far as the story goes, someone pointed out that the plot is filled with holes and the motivations of some characters are sketchy, to say the least. But this is a genre novel and not a great American classic. The bottom line criterion should be "is the book entertaining?" and I would say yes. The book is worth a listen because the plot is clever enough to keep you guessing, which is the point of a mystery.

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Narrator as Author

Revisado: 07-16-17

Would you consider the audio edition of The Force to be better than the print version?

Dion Graham makes this book come alive. If ever there was an example of how a narrator can make a book, this is it. Not only does he create characters through his voice, but Graham sets a pace that forces the listener to hold on tight because the ride is fast and wild.

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