Odd having a female as narrator

What made the experience of listening to Whose Body? the most enjoyable?

The story

What was one of the most memorable moments of Whose Body??

Don't really have one

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I just couldn't get into it with a female narrator

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No not really

Any additional comments?

I know I will sound sexist, but I don't think a female should be narrating as a male main character

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Tinny echo in recording ruins classic mystery

As a longtime Lord Peter Wimsey fan, I enjoyed this story, but there is a poor quality, tinny echo in the recording that is very grating on the ear.

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Excellent story and narration

What did you love best about Whose Body??

The narration of this story realy comes to life with the way in which Roe Kendel handles the many characters in the tale

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lord Peter Wimsey. Almost nothing bothers him and he, in his exentric way, manages to solve what looks like a double mystery but turns out to be really one.

What about Roe Kendall???s performance did you like?

She handled the narration of the book in such a way that you quickly forget you're listening to a narration and get pulled in to the story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The way in which Bunter responds to a sudden nervous attack which Lord Peter suffers while staying up too late; Just at the moment when he realizes who the murderor is.

Any additional comments?

Although the audio quality of this recording is perhaps a little fuzzy, this fact quickly fades in to the background when you really begin to loose yourself in the story. This happens quite quickly.

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2 people found this helpful

Great story; not so great narrator

I have just discovered Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey series and I love the stories. (The radio dramatizations starring Ian Carmichael, 3 of which are available on Audible, are fantastic.)

This story is no exception: Other than a fairly long 'confession' at the end (which kind of drags), this story is great, and I love the Peter Wimsey character.

Unfortunately, this narrator was terrible, at least for this story. I think a woman was probably a bad choice to begin with (the Peter Wimsey stories seem more suited to a male voice), but it was compounded by her determination to keep all the humour out. I also felt that she didn't really understand the lingo of the period, so she kept putting the stresses on the wrong syllables or words in sentences or something.

It's not the worst narration of a book I've ever heard, but it was disappointing because it really didn't do justice to the material. Unless you're a big Sayers fan, I recommend sticking to the radio dramatizations.

(Note to Audible: Would love to see some more Sayers books on here, BTW!)

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24 people found this helpful

WHY Have A Female Narrator???

I love Dorothy L. Sayers and this is a good story, but having a woman read the part of Lord Peter is all wrong. My head spins as male after male character speaks and I'm trying to figure out when it's our Lord Peter. It's disconcerting and a shame. The reader is good--that isn't the problem. I was doing well overall until suddenly I wasn't, and I realized I was struggling to keep up at times. I have no idea how narrators are chosen, but more care should be taken with the stories of our beloved writers. I'll keep listening, but it simply could have been SO MUCH BETTER.

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5 people found this helpful

Superior Story, Superior Narration.

This is an involving, engaging mystery. We are introduced to Lord Peter, who has an inquisitive mind. He's a character that obviously has some issues leftover from the war--Bunter is his servant and seems to have been with him during the war also.

There are two bodies. Parker and Lord Peter begin by trying to divide and conquer, but the more they learn, the more confusing it gets. It takes Lord Peter's twisty mind to figure things out.

The Narration is absolutely top notch. There are some recording artifacts, but I found that I didn't even notice them after a few minutes. This is an excellent listen.

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So disappointed in the narration

What disappointed you about Whose Body??

Whose Body is a wonderful story, with great characters and a terrific plot. When you read the novel, you will love it.

Sadly, if you listen to the narration by Roe Kendall, you will never get a sense of what a blockbuster it is. Her voice is simply not cut out for this kind of reading. She misinterprets phrases, which changes the meaning of dialogue. As an example, picture a British voice saying something like, "Hello, what have we here?" The intent of the "Hello" is as an exclamation. Ms. Kendall would read it as a greeting. She does this throughout the book. Either she had never read the work before, or she is unfamiliar with basic British conversational forms. She just can't make it work.

Her female character voices were reasonable, as I was mostly able to distinguish between one female character and another, just by the voice (although she did a grave disservice to the Dowager Duchess of Denver, making her try to sound sensible and coming across as quite scatty, when clearly she is supposed to SOUND scatty but come across as extremely sensible.)

But her handling of the male voices was such that I couldn't really tell the difference between the characters just by tone of voice. (And if you think I'm being too harsh here, listen to anything read by Ian Charmichael, Bronson Pinchot, Oliver Wyman, Ray Porter, or Barbara Rosenblat.)

I would heartily recommend the book to be read by anyone. Sadly, I cannot recommend the Audible version.

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2 people found this helpful

Great story by a brilliant author, but...

I'm very disappointed by the narration. Although her characterization of the Dowager Duchess is very good, it baffles me that a woman was chosen to narrate a book with only two female characters- and those having minimal parts. Surely (I hope!) it is not because it was written by woman. I think if Dorothy Sayers knew her beloved Lord Peter had been voiced by a woman for the sole reason that she happened to be one herself, it would boggle her brilliant mind as well as break her heart. There are SO many men (and women, for that matter!) who could have done a much better job with these colorful characters. This narrator's voice is weak and not at all suited to portraying male characters. She actually sounds pained at several points trying to maintain the vocalizations, and by the last several chapters they become muddled and differ greatly from the earlier. Read the book first!

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32 people found this helpful