Angus

Below is a “full review”

Revisado: 02-24-22

How quickly does that effete faux southern accent— reciting a text riddled with ‘woe is me’ misogynistic scenes of disappointing sex—become tedious? About as long as it takes to read this review.

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My Favorite Shakespeare Play

Revisado: 02-23-22

This is my favorite Shakespeare play. Which is why I sampled the three versions available. Preposterously, this was the best. To be brief, the narrator, Mark B. pronounces “suborned” (spoken by Desdemona) as “stubborn” and the phrase “uncircumcised dog” (spoken by Othello in his last speech of the play) as “circumcised dog.” The deep timbre of Othello’s voice is the best part of his ‘performance’ but putting that word in quotes is my way of indicating that he almost DOGGEDLY refuses to emote! So this listening to his Reading of the play required an antidote. I watched Kenneth Branagh’s movie version. His version is good, but I am disappointed by the fact that I can’t find one where all the actors playing the key roles are great. Branagh has the best Roderigo by far. And btw, from a different movie version, Anthony Hopkins probably still shudders when he remembers his performance as Othello. I know I do.

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Better than “Crime and Punishment”

Revisado: 08-31-20

With searing and unremitting intensity, Zola explores the after effects suffered by a pair of lovers who kill the woman’s husband. From the first minute following the murder, both the man and woman undergo an emotional, psychological, and physical transformation that is actually painful for the reader to ‘witness’. What Zola makes most obvious about the guilt following murder is that it is impossible to escape from it.
Kate Winslet’s reading cannot be over praised. Every moment of her narration is in perfect key with what she is reading. How it came to be that she is the narrator of this hidden treasure it would be interesting to know, but the versatility of her voice could never be be fully appreciated by merely seeing her in films.

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Always hard to know how to end a book

Revisado: 03-16-20

Intense and sobering with compelling statistics it is a taut cogent vilification of capitalism.

The last chapter has an astounding naïveté and is just embarrassing to read.

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Laugh out loud

Revisado: 07-30-19

Yeah, it’s a cliche, but how many books can manage to make you laugh out loud? I absolutely adore P.G. Wodehouse and bless his books as romps and larks of an order today’s writers can’t hope to reproduce. When you absolutely can only take airy humor bc you’ve been on a Melville binge for two weeks then Wodehouse is to adults as cartoons were to us as kids. Not to mention that the guy was prolific as hell, so no point sparing his books, dig in and go bc there is such an endless supply (not to mention can be read twice and thrice over). Wodehouse would describe this review as the gushings of a school girl but what of that?

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Good sign when vol 6 is great

Revisado: 09-29-18

Long series. A few ups and downs. Part 6 was a great read and shows no sign of losing steam. Only downside is the wait for v7.

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Strong showing in this excellent series

Revisado: 10-31-17

Though I do enjoy its better practitioners, I'm not a superfan of military sci-fi. But the Spiral Wars series is about as good as this sub-genre gets. Of course, John Lee is a superb reader, making even the characters' names sound mellifluous, and he is consistently great across the entire series to date.

What I find most interesting is that despite some "genre-y" elements - for example, much detail on the aspects of ship leadership and its rather heroic practitioners - for the most part, Shepherd keeps these veering away from cliches, or if he goes there, it's earned and appealing when he does.

The most badass Marine captain (you never learn how to spell names in audiobooks!) comes from a place where the most effective fighters build their strength via deep meditation and obsessive discipline that makes her not JUST a badass, but a pretty interesting human character as well...a sort of elite Zen killing machine but also raised with an ethic that makes lying nearly impossible, and makes trust in her actions unquestionable. Alien species are political and interesting, and a lot of the tension in the books is political and interesting - these are the subtleties that set it apart from the more tedious aspects and growling testosterone of the genre. It's got interesting diplomacy and failures of diplomacy that are often as exciting as the battle scenes.

But: This volume in the series unfolds like one gigantic battle, with incredibly complex alliances, and was so tense that I was forced to binge listen over a weekend. I could not stop listening. So genre or no, this is a great read.

The series would also make for great cinema, and this book really amps up the sweeping scope that has been building over the first few outings of the series. There definitely seems to be room to keep going in and I hope that happens. Soon, please, Mr Shepherd?

Highly recommended.

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Same As It Ever Was

Revisado: 10-08-17

What is life like for the common laborer in America when Big Business owns the politicians, the police, the judges and the union leaders?

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Dickens and Armitage: two masters

Revisado: 03-28-17

A better reading experience cannot be conceived. Every nuance and shade of meaning in Dickens words is conveyed by Armitage, who pulls out all the stops when it comes to creating characters through their voices.

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If you're a fan, a good read

Revisado: 11-19-16

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you're a fan of Johnny Marr, guitar playing in general, or how an artist integrates influences, this is a worthy read that gives a good solid glimpse of Johnny Marr's world view. Lots of celebrity stories, but you can hear how the man tries hard to overcome hero and celebrity worship. Also, just how much his relentless pursuit of avoiding complacency, personally, artistically, and as a person. I've always suspected JM is a difficult man to work with. He may be. But his passion for music, for the guitar, pushing his own boundaries and taking risks, and his wide open ears across a huge range of pop sub-genres...well, he's had a very cool life so far. Oh, and see his solo band live if you can, too.

What did you like best about this story?

While it doesn't really convey, one feels, all the nuances of events like his separation from The Smiths, it definitely does give you a feel for how these events impacted him, personally and artistically. An enjoyable read with a dark and compelling wit that belies the seriousness of his pursuits and lightens up that impression you might have that his music is mired in misery.

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