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Twilight by Stephenie Meyer : Audio Book Reviews : Books For Ears

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Rating: 3.5

Twilight by Stephenie MeyerTwilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Reader: Ilyana Kadushin

Short Review: One 17 year old girl who always felt different (and is a klutz to the extreme) crosses paths with a family of exquisite vampires. Romance and intrigue ensues. It grew on me, but it took a while.

Long Review: When the audio started, I was confused for a moment because the voice sounded so familiar. It took me a while, but I finally realized that it reminded me of the voice that Angela Goethals uses for Carmen in the The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its sequels. Once I got past that, the reading was just okay. Unlike some of my favorite audio book readers, Kadushin seems to use virtually the same voice for everyone. This works to some degree because the book is told entirely from the point of view of its young female protagonist, Bella, but I have come to expect more.

I had sought out this book in particular because it seems to have such a cult following. My verdict is basically that I like the core ideas. I like Meyer’s reinterpretation of the vampire. I like Bella and Edward and Jacob.. and all the rest of the characters. I wonder at some of Bella’s motivations (which I won’t share because I don’t want to spoil anything for those of you planning on reading/listening to it). I felt like I was reading a prequel a lot of the time – as if this was all the background stuff that Meyer had to get out of the way before she could get to telling the real story.

I will say that a lot of the basic components of the store did ring true – Bella’s experience in school. Her relationships with her new friends and her parents. And I am clear that this is in many ways a Fantasy Romance. So – will I seek out the next book? Yes, though more due to the promise inherent in the legion of dedicated fans the series has than due to my own captivation with this particular book or reader.

Twilight is also available through the Simply Audiobooks Rental Program.



5 Comments

  1. Mihaela wrote:

    Awful experience!! I’m so disappointed with the reader…. Monotonous, dull reading, sounds like the phone book.
    Great book, poor reader. So sorry she’s reading the whole saga.
    Really sorry!!!!!

  2. Mary wrote:

    The audio performance was awful. Lacking in variety or any kind of emotional inflection – it was so BORING to listen to. I won’t do another audio version of this – if I go back, I’ll read the books. That way the characters can express actual emotions in my head.

  3. Kimberly wrote:

    I had just finished listening to the last Harry Potter novel and decided to give Twilight a go. Going from the wonderful Jim Dale, who does a phenomenal job with all of the Harry Potter series, to this reader was almost more than I could handle. She doesnt bring any life to the novel, I felt as if I was back in my high school english class forced to listen to some poor unenthusiastic student read aloud. Once I found out that she is the reader for the entire series, I think I will be reading the rest of the series on my own.

  4. Jeanne wrote:

    I hear what you are all saying.. and I agree that the reader is not on par with the Jim Dale’s of the world (love him!!) – but what is funny is that she really did grow on me. Especially over the course of the subsequent books. I have been tempted to go back and listen to part of this audio book and then to Breaking Dawn to see if I think she improved in her reading style over the course of the series.

    I will admit that I stuck with the series much more out of desire to hear where Meyer went with the story than due to any great loyalty to the reader. As is always the case – your mileage may vary.