Audiobooks

Audiobook Review: CUTTING FOR STONE by Abraham Verghese

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So — since I’m probably the only person who hasn’t read this book, I put it on my “must get” list to purchase from Audible. I actually started this book when it came out several years ago, but couldn’t stay with it. I thought perhaps an audio version would be easier for me, especially since it had been so long I could not remember what it was about and why I didn’t stay with it.

This novel is the lifelong story of twins boys, Shiva and Marion, born to an English doctor and a young Indian nun. Their mother dies in childbirth and their father wants nothing to do with them, so they are raised by a pair of doctors who take the boys in and grow to love them (and each other). The story traces the boys’ development, growing up amid political turmoil in Ethiopia, falling in love with the same young woman (Genet – their childhood playmate), and making lives for themselves as physicians.

So here’s the thing — I wanted SO MUCH to like this story. It’s extremely well written, it has constant and universal themes in it of family, love, and sacrifice. Plus, EVERYONE I know has loved this book. Loved it. But I have to be honest – this book made me miserable. I found the almost gruesomely vivid medical details to be too much for me (driving to school one day I had to turn it off as I was going to throw up). I loved the part when the boys were young, but then some things occurred that involved Genet and I found them extremely disturbing. I was very troubled by the story and its outcomes. Yes, it’s  an incredible work, but it left me in tears and haunted (not in a good way) by the characters. What can I say? I read to escape and I enjoy positive and uplifting feelings and endings. I’m extremely sensitive.This book genuinely made me miserable, so I was happy to finish it.

I’d love to hear from others who read it and their experience!

The Audiobook was a lengthy 24 hours and was ably read by Sunil Malhotra.

Oh my Ears! What I’ve Been Listening to in the Car…Part One

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The crazy commute continues, and while I love my NPR and the Broadway channel, Audible is keeping me sane. I have to say, though, that I often miss things because I have (wait for it —- ) concentrate on driving! I don’t “rewind” or whatever you’d call it digitally simply because I need to focus on driving, not fiddle with my audio player. However, if the choice is listen or not get a book at all, then I’m definitely up for listening!

In this last stretch I listened to six books – one was an Audible gift for the holidays while the rest I either got with my monthly credit or purchased because I couldn’t wait until the end of the month.

After All the Stars in the Heavens (reviewed earlier and separately), I purchased WONDER by R. J. Palacios. Yes, I know I am the LAST PERSON IN THE WORLD to get to this book, but it never seems to be in at the library. Well, it was worth the wait and the $9.99 I paid for it because this book (which you’ve probably all read already) is a gem. WONDER tells the story of Auggie Pullman, a fifth grader who has always been schooled at home because of his physical differences (which are facial). It’s a year in Auggie’s life as he integrates into school and navigates the social scene. I loved this story! When I first heard the main narrator (Diana Steele for Auggie) I thought it was Paula Poundstone trying to sound like a little kid, but eventually it grew on me and I decided it was just perfect. I can still hear that voice in my head!

Next I received a free download from Audible also a holiday treat – the short story of THE CHIMES by Charles Dickens. Wow – this was a miserable and depressing story. I guess Dickens published three stories about Christmas with THE CHIMES coming after A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Anyways — while superbly written, the story centered on this poor, hapless man named Toby “Trotty” Veck whose whole happy life is just a big illusion because everyone’s really dead. Whew — Merry Christmas!

Anyway – after that pick-me-up, I got the NEW Agatha Raisin by MC Beaton – DISHING THE DIRT. I couldn’t wait for it so I bought it for myself as a treat. Agatha is dealing with a new gal in town – a therapist – who not only seems to know a lot about people (including about Agatha’s past), but she uses it to her own devices. That said, she promptly ends up dead (the therapist that is) and Agatha needs to figure out who dunnit! This story was ably read by Alison Larkin.

Over the actual week of Christmas I listened to THE TIME BETWEEN, which I got on sale. It is by Karen White and I really like her stories. Understandably though, close to Christmas is not a good time for listening as there are many crazy people on the roads (or at least there are around here/Boston). This is a story of family and relationships, sisters and secrets. It takes place in the South, which many of Ms. White’s stories do. It was really good and had my fave themes of redemption and forgiveness in it. It had more than one narrator/voice for the women portrayed and all were very good and appropriate: Jennifer Ikeda, Barbara Rosenblat, and Angela Goethals. I may go back and listen to it again.

Well this ends Part One! Part Deux will be coming — featuring a YA novel I really wanted and loved called Nightfall by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski and Isabel Allende’s new novel: The Japanese Lover.

Oh My Ears! What I’ve Been Listening to in the Car…

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With my new commute (Boston area traffic!!), I’ve become a devotee of Audible and audiobooks which I purchase via Amazon.

Here’s what I’ve been listening to in the car each morning (well,along with NPR):

FALL OF GIANTS by Ken Follett — This is SUPER long (over 30 hours) and I’m still listening to it. If this was a book (um – it is) it would be 1,000 pages! It’s the first in the Century trilogy and normally I love, love, love these sweeping sagas that are multi-generational and trace a family line through the years (a la Edward Rutherfurd). It focuses on several storylines that apparently converge and take place around the time of WWI. Have to be honest here — while listening to it I found it had a lot of sex and violence. I just couldn’t always stay focused; but of course that might have been the traffic…

THE STORMCHASERS by Jenna Blum — How did Jenna Blum have a book out that I did not know about? I loved her “THOSE WHO SAVED US” and her short story in GRAND CENTRAL. This was totally different for her – twins Charles and Karena haven’t seen each other in years, not since Charles, who suffers from bipolar disorder, disappeared in his quest as a storm chaser. Karena is determined to find him now and her path takes her into the subculture of storm chasing. This was interesting and compelling and heart breaking – all at once. Jenna Blum does a great job of painting a picture of what life is like with a family member who suffers from mental illness. Charles’ bipolar comes with psychotic episodes and is especially frightening. I liked this novel, but I didn’t love it as I found it depressing. The narration sometimes bothered me when the narrator used what I call a “voiceover voice” – when you pitch your voice slightly higher and lift your soft palate, if you know what I mean.

THE BONES OF PARIS by Laurie R. King — I love Laurie King’s Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes books and I thought I’d love this one. It was a sometimes gritty mystery about missing young women in Paris during the Jazz Age and an intrepid detective’s search for them. It was very well-written, but a bit too harsh sexually for my tastes (I don’t like to grimace while driving). Definitely not a cozy, but well-plotted and interesting. I loved the narrator’s voice (Jefferson Mays). Oddly enough it had characters in it that I was reading about in another book (Mann Ray and Lee Miller from THE BEAUTIFUL AMERICAN).

NIGHT ROAD by Kristin Hannah – I just finished this one. I loved Kristin Hannah’s THE NIGHTINGALE, so I wanted to read another by her. This was great and I couldn’t stop listening (which is good because if you know Boston traffic, I had plenty of time to sit and listen). In this novel, twins Mia and Zack befriend new girl Lexi and the three become inseparable. The twins’ mother, Jude, welcomes Lexi into their home, though she has a definite plan for her children. Then, senior year, events happen that will change forever the lives of all of them. This book has some of my favorite themes of self-forgiveness and reconciliation in it. I really enjoyed it and Kathleen McInerney’s narration.

ECHO – by Pam Munoz Ryan – I’m listening to it now! It’s a children’s fantasy story. There’s music mixed in, too.

With my next Audible credit, I will purchase ALL THE STARS IN HEAVEN by my gal Adriana — love her books!

What are YOU listening to these days?

 

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The Daring Ladies of Lowell by Kate Alcott

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Since I have a bit of commute for school pick-up, I’ve been listening to more audiobooks in the car these past few months. I get them from the local library. Recently I listened to “The Daring Ladies of Lowell” by Kate Alcott (author of The Dressmaker – which I also listened to on audio) which is read by Cassandra Campbell.

I live near the Lowell Mills and I have always found their history fascinating. In this novel, Alice Barrow moves to Lowell to work in the mills. She is a fairly typical “mill girl”, having left her family farm for work in the city and some independence. Alice lives in a boarding house (very typical of the time) with several other mill girls. Then one of them is found dead — suicide is suspected but it turns to murder. Alice becomes involved in the trial and in trying to bring her friend’s murderer to justice. Along the way, the girls are fighting for better working conditions and health protection, and Alice finds herself falling in love with the son of the mill owner.

The following contains SPOILERS!

I enjoyed listening to this book. I have to say I was a bit freaked out by the health issues some of the girls had that I was unaware of — coughing up “cotton balls” of lint from breathing it in during production, and eventually having their lungs ruined. That was quite disturbing. Lovey’s murder is also quite disturbing – she is pregnant and the number one suspect is an itinerant minister. Interestingly, this part of the novel was based on the real life murder of a mill girl, and Alcott even used the trial testimony and some real names. (In real life, though, the murder took place in Fall River – still in Massachusetts but not Lowell).

The only thing that didn’t “work” for me in this story was the romance. It seemed fairly improbable that the mill owner’s son would fall in love with a worker (and I don’t mean “lust after” but truly “fall in love”). The class divide was pretty great in those days and the working class was often “invisible” to the wealthy. It was fine; I just had to suspend my disbelief during those scenes!

Here’s a great article from the Globe about the real murder in Massachusetts that this is based on and how Ms. Alcott came to write about it:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2014/04/19/the-real-life-murder-behind-novel-about-lowell-mills/bvMBFwckjExNWEGkS87zvI/story.html

You can see this book on Indie Bound where I am an Affiliate:

Find it at an Indie!

Audiobook Review: THE DRESSMAKER by Kate Alcott

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I had heard of the novel THE DRESSMAKER but never read it, so I took it from the audiobook shelf at the library. In this book, set in 1912, Tess is a young seamstress who wants to make her way in the world. She has a wonderful opportunity when she signs on to be part of the famous designer, Lady Duff Gordon’s, household.They sail for America, but unfortunately on the Titanic! Well, of course we all know what happens, but Tess and Lady Duff Gordon and her husband survive, though there is a question about The Duff Gordons’ actions and if she and her husband kept people out of their lifeboat. Tess is thrown into the spotlight of the hearings after they reach New York (which are based on the actual trials and evidence given by Titanic survivors). She must decide what is the truth and how she can be true to herself even if it means not being faithful to her employer (and there’s a little romance thrown in there, too!)

Interestingly, there really was a designer named Lady Lucile Duff Gordon whose experiences were like those of the book, and she was the inspiration for this novel. Susan Duerden is the narrator and she does a nice job with the different and has a lovely English accent. That said, the one voice I didn’t care for was Tess’ as she sounded to high-pitched and a little vapid, when the character was actually quite smart and strong.

I enjoyed listening to this one (kid-friendly as well for those drives to school!).

Audiobook Review: A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve (read by Linda Emond)

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Now that fall is firmly here, I like an audio book to listen to as I drive to my children’s school and wait for them at pick up. I found A WEDDING IN DECEMBER at the library. I’ve always been an Anita Shreve fan, and I hadn’t read this one.

In A WEDDING IN DECEMBER, several old high school friends gather for the wedding of Bill and Bridget, who reconnected at their 25 year reunion. Each guest has their own skeletons in the closet and past (as well as present!) issues. Bridget is battling cancer. Bill has left his wife for her. Nora is dealing with widowhood and her feelings for past beau, Harrison. Agnes is the most interesting to me – the single friend who never left their old school and remains there as a history teacher, while writing on the side. These friends (and several more) are haunted by the death of Stephen, one of their own, during their senior year.

There’s a lot going on in this story, and at times I had some difficulty keeping everyone straight. I found Agnes’ story which she was writing, about a doctor during the Halifax disaster of 1917, intriguing and while I could see the parallels to the main story, I did find it jarring to suddenly be in Halifax with a host of other people and their problems.

Anita Shreve does here what she does best, though, which is to make people so very real and alive, that they stay with you long after reading. Linda Emond’s soothing voice adds just the right touch to this narrative.

You can see it online or get yours where I got mine: the library!

Quick Audiobook Review: “World without End” by Ken Follett

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I loved the book and miniseries “Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett, so I was thrilled to find the audiobook for its sequel, “World without End”, at the library (read by John Lee).

While this story takes place in Kingsbridge, the town that is the setting for “Pillars of the Earth”, it stands alone as a novel, being set 200 years later and with new characters (though references are sometimes made to the previous characters).

The story starts with four children, playing in the woods. They witness a murder and a secret, and this event sets the stage for the events of their lives, which are chronicled. Follett draws us a picture of Medieval England that is vivid and accurate. His characters are unique and the main characters are all quite different. I listened to this story in the car while driving and still could easily follow the plot (which was definitely not for the kids at times!). John Lee’s narration was a great touch to the story; he excels at providing unique character voices.

All in all, a great story!