Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Rating: 5

lolita.jpg

Lolita

Author: Vladimir Nabokov
Read by: Jeremy Irons

Short Review: Nabokov’s beautifully-written, disturbing story of a pedophile’s love for a young girl, read by the inimitable Jeremy Irons.

Long Review: Lolita is, of course, a classic. But an uncomfortable one. Humbert Humbert is quite the anti-hero: charming, brilliant, self-effacing and at the same time a disgusting, manipulative, immoral creep. The novel is a farce which uses Poe’s Annabel Lee as a jumping-off point to explain a terribly destructive fetish disguised with a pretty poetic bow.

The book relies on H.H.’s command of language and allusion to make the disgusting palpable. Casting Irons as the reader, and thus in the role he played in the film directed by Adrian Lyne, was a master stroke. H.H. narrates the novel, of course, and not just anyone can read that part convincingly. Jeremy Irons does. His voice is wonderful, his diction is precise, and he oozes the old-world breeding and education the role requires.

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The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

Rating: 4

The Bad BeginningThe Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1)
Author: Lemony Snicket
Read by: Tim Curry

Audio Book Extras: Interview of Lemony Snicket by Leonard C. Marcus

Short Review: Tim Curry! Lemony Snicket! Creepy and dark, yet strangely endearing. And you get to hear an interview with the ever elusive Mr. Snicket.

Long Review: Yes, this is technically a children’s book - but even if you are over 10 (or over 20 for that matter), don’t let that stop you. I read this book before I listened to it - and I definitely preferred having Tim Curry read it to me. For those who haven’t come across this series before, it is about the Baudelaire orphans and their terrible trials and tribulations after the death of their parents. But these are no ordinary orphans - they are clever and they never give up. That is a good thing, because there is no end in sight for their troubles.

Rather than steering clear of challenging words, Snicket’s narrator provides definitions along the way. The flavor of the story is gothic and dark (with the guarantee of no happy ending from the very first sentence) - but the combination of Tim Curry’s voice and Lemony Snicket’s storytelling make this one a very tasty treat indeed.

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer

Rating: 4


Into Thin Air

Into Thin Air

Author: Jon Krakauer

Read by: Jon Krakauer

Short Review: An author-narrated memoir of one of the most tragic seasons on Mt. Everest.

Long Review: This book was highly recommended to me by a family member, and I was very curious to literally hear the tale in the author’s own voice. Anyone familiar with the story of that tragic season on Everest is familiar with the controversy surrounding the actions of the guide companies and some of the climbers, and the flak that Krakauer himself has received. I’m certainly no expert on climbing, Everest, the 1996 tragedies, or on the validity of Krakauer’s version of events, but the book itself was riveting and seemed believable throughout.

I know some audio book fans aren’t particularly fond of author-read material, but I think it’s absolutely vital in this instance. Krakauer’s book is intensely personal in parts, and reliant on journalistic integrity and accuracy in others. Throughout, his grasp of the facts is vital–speaking for his own work as a journalist is one of those acts of bravery any non-fiction writer should face. But the personal material is even more important to transmit in his own voice. In the book, Krakauer recounts his friendship with several of the people on the 1996 climb, his own role and experiences on the climb, his work for Outside magazine, his own survivor’s guilt–and none of it would have rung as true in another person’s voice.

That said, he’s not a professional actor or speaker. Krakauer doesn’t have a Voice voice. But he does a great job all the same. His pacing is good, he’s careful in pronouncing names and words that come from other languages, and he is meticulous when he reads the really important bits–facts about elevation sickness, oxygen tanks, times and messages, historical material, and the like. At no point did I feel like his voice or pacing was keeping me from taking in the material.

Overall, I came away from the book pretty impressed by Krakauer’s honesty and his reporting skills. He’s critical of several of the guides and climbers who were on that mountain with him, but he’s intensely critical of himself as well. I’m glad to have heard his story, and have no ambition whatsoever to court that level of danger on a mountain anytime soon.

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Rating: 5

Anansi BoysAnansi Boys
Author: Neil Gaiman
Read By: Lenny Henry

Short Review: Funny, dark, whimsical, captivating and carried to your ear via the melodic and varied voices of the incredible Lenny Henry. One of those audio books that will make you find excuses to listen to just one more chapter.

Long Review: This is one of those magic tales that I think I might have struggled with reading on paper. The fact that I found it first on audio is a tale of luck in itself. Lenny Henry was the magic ingredient I needed to pull me into the heart of this tale. He delivers the story with its requisite wide range of accents - all of which ring true and made the story live more for me than it would have on the page.

Neil Gaiman has created a fabulous assortment of people (and those who are more than people). He has spun the tale of an average Joe who thinks he isn’t anyone special. We get to go along for the ride as he discovers his true and amazing self. It is a tale of finding your way and discovering the magic that is hidden from most of the people in the world.

The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich

Rating: 4.5

Master Butcher's Singing Club

Author: Louise Erdrich

Read by: Louise Erdrich

Short review: A beautifully written historical novel set in Germany and North Dakota between the two World Wars.

Long review: I’ve been an unabashed fan of Erdrich’s since I read her phenomenal first novel Love Medicine: A Novel. Most of her books are set in and among an Ojibwe tribe in North Dakota. This time around, however, she follows the life of Fidelis Waldvogel, a German butcher, singer, and veteran who immigrates to the US to build a life for his family. Delphine Watzka, daughter of the town drunk, becomes enmeshed in the Waldvogel family while trying to sort out her complex relationships with her sodden father and her perplexing Ojibwe partner Cyprian Lazarre. The book explores questions of love, sexual identity, parenthood, duty, loyalty, genealogy, war, friendship, forgiveness . . . all concepts that resurface in Erdrich’s books.

I was particularly intrigued to hear Erdrich read her own work, since I’ve never had the chance to go to one of her live readings. She has a gorgeous sense of language, and her work as a poet has definitely spilled into her novels. I found her narration clear and evocative, but not overly emotional or dramatic. There were a few pauses here and there that were a tad jarring, but overall I was surprised by how well she read. I will gladly listen to more self-narrator works by Erdrich.

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Rating: 5

Oryx and Crake

Oryx and Crake
Author: Margaret Atwood
Read by: Campbell Scott
Short Review: A dystopian “speculative fiction” (Atwood’s term) novel tracking a young man’s experiences in pre- and post-apocalyptic world, complete with a ridiculously sheltered genius caste, chaotic plebe lands, corporations run amuck, transgenic species, genetic engineering and cloning to the nth degree, a new, broken Eden, with a side of crushing love-triangle thrown in for good measure.

Long Review: Atwood is a genius. You knew that already, right? Because she is.
Lanea and Atwood sitting in a tree, R. E. A. D. I. N. G. . . .

Campbell Scott reads the work beautifully. I could listen to his voice for hours, and I did. Having listened to the novel, I’ll have a hard time if anyone other than Scott is cast as the protagonist in a film of the novel one day. Scott’s voice is so appropriate for this novel in particular because he can flatten the affect of his voice so convincingly. As narrator, he is presenting the description of the world’s decline and collapse, narrating the story leading up to the big bad end, and also speaking for Will, the heart-broken kid who grows into a heart-broken adult, who winds up a heart-broken nanny to some very odd, er, humanoids.

The novel itself is beautifully written, engaging, terrifying, sad . . . I didn’t read this book on paper before listening to the audiobook, and I worried that I might miss something. I didn’t. Scott’s narration was entrancing for me, and I ended up listening to most of the audio book a second time because I just didn’t want to put it down.

You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore

Rating: 5

You Suck: A Love StoryYou Suck: A Love Story
Author: Christopher Moore
Read By: Susan Bennett
Audio Bonuses: Interview with Christopher Moore

Short Review: Super fun and irreverent vampire romp through San Francisco, stellar reader to whom I could listen all day long.

Long Review: I just finished listening to this - and all I can say is WOW. This is one of those audio books that I let just replay the last disk because I didn’t want it to be done. Susan Bennett is sheer magic. Some readers can just do that - make you forget that you are listening to one person read. Each character is clear and distinct - and the three core characters are made so much more tangible through her vocal choices. But the best reader can’t make a dull story good - lucky for us this reader is paired with a super fun ride through present day, vampire ridden San Francisco. For those who have read Bloodsucking Fiends, this is a sequel. I hadn’t read the first book but still loved this one. For the record, the character that I ended up loving most was the one I was sort of annoyed with when I first met her. I bet it happens to you too. I also loved the interview with the author at the end. I like hearing author’s voices and learning tidbits about their creative process.

You Suck: A Love Story is also available through the Simply Audiobooks Rental Program.

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