Susan

Vapid, characterless pap

Revisado: 05-03-18

Reading a few Heyers does not constitute a sufficient background for writing a historical novel. As well as being criminally inaccurate in details and tin-eared in tone and dialogue, the characters are flat, inane, and stupid beyond belief. The best things I can say are that the narrator has an attractive voice, and that listening to this sludge did not actually cause physical injury.

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esto le resultó útil a 12 personas

Fascinating book; robotic narrator

Revisado: 04-23-18

A very interesting historic (written during WWI) discussion of criminal insanity. However, the narrative is hard to listen to, as the narrator pauses in odd places, speaks in a robotic monotone, and mispronounces a lot of words, sometimes to unintentionally hilarious effect. Listen for “ penal” and “raision d’être”! If the book had been any less interesting, I would not have bothered, the narration is so poor.

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Genuinely funny

Revisado: 04-06-18

I wasn't expecting this book to be extremely funny in addition to being a period romance. In fact, there are several almost incredibly funny scenes, many involving the second husband of the hero's sister-in-law, who combines self-absorption and a tendency to over-communicate in perfect proportions. The word-play is witty and pops up throughout the novel, often at the most unexpected times. I seldom laugh out loud, but listening to this led to unseemly exhibitions of amusement on public transit.

The plot is fine. The heroine is callow, but she's portrayed as a repressed and naive nineteen year old, so anything more couldn't really be expected. But the language and the wit makes this the funniest period novel I've read in a long time.

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Excruciating

Revisado: 04-06-18

I was hoping for a moderately entertaining read with a higher-than-average literary content, given that it was labelled as a 'smart romance.' I guess it depends on what you like. The author's idea of characterization is to describe her characters' hairstyles; the story was painfully predictable at 1.5 hours in, and the author doesn't understand the words she uses: 'a... chuckle abdicated from my lungs.' Abdicated? Really?

I suppose it wouldn't have killed me to listen to the whole thing, but I gave up after 2 hours. I can think of better uses for the other 12 hours.

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far better than most true crime

Revisado: 12-21-17

I have read a lot of true crime, and this is one of the very best. An absorbing story about a larger-than-life villian with a wispy 'little girl' voice and a streak of pure narcissistic sociopathy, it is both well-written and riveting. The story is well narrated with entertaining characterizations, and the psychology of the main characters is complex and fascinating.

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Witty British drama

Revisado: 12-12-16

A great but little known English play about the sexual and economic double standard in the 1920s. I think it contains Maugham's best comic roles for women. The performance sparkles.

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Weak dialogue mars Christian cozy

Revisado: 12-11-16

The dialogue, especially between hero and heroine, is simultaneously insipid, flip, and unconvincing. Contrived plot speeds up at the end. 5 or 6 murders but I can't care about any of the characters.

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A neglected classic

Revisado: 12-08-16

A troubling, elegantly written tragicomedy set in London in the early '60s. Excellent characterization and a leisurely, but never dull, pace.

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Soundtrack from DVD

Revisado: 10-14-16

This s the audio track from a live show. And was originally sold as a DVD. The first half works ok without the visual, but the rest makes no sense at all. This should not be sold as an audiobook.

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Acts are in the wrong order

Revisado: 05-24-14

Something has gone wrong: while the whole play in on this recording, the acts are out of sequence. Buy another version.

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esto le resultó útil a 5 personas