David

Narration Makes It

Revisado: 01-14-25

This classic ghost story is well written and sometimes suspenseful, but it's the narration by Emma Thompson that makes it a great listen. She does a stellar job with the voices, and by the climax her voice takes you to the edge of your seat. A fun short book!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Investors, Beware

Revisado: 12-23-24

It’s not that people are so gullible. It’s that a clever and persistent con man can persuade so many people to trust him. That’s one of the lessons of “Anansi’s Gold.” Too many people were taken in by the brash, aggressive John Ackah Blay-Miezah, the Ghanian confidence man at the center of the book. And these people continued to be gulled, time after time, as Blay-Miezah sought more money from them in his purported efforts to bring home an elusive billion-dollar trust fund supposedly created by Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s founding president.

The telling was interesting but not compelling to me. We learned what happened, but not necessarily why. I never really understood why Blay-Miezah lied so compulsively or why so many people continued to believe him when barely a penny was ever returned. I got the overall picture—people are easily fooled when they are greedy or when they want to believe—but I began to wish the book were shorter and punchier.

Some of the more interesting parts focused on historical characters like Jerry Rawlings, a brutal leader of Ghana, and John Mitchell, the U.S. Attorney General under Richard Nixon who facilitated Blay-Miezah toward the end. Some of the best parts of the book were about the life and achievements of Kwame Nkrumah, a decent and visionary leader of Ghana.

The narration was good and matter-of-fact, not too dramatic for the story.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Great Narration!

Revisado: 12-03-24

Arian Moayed brings so much life to this quirky novel as he reads. He seems to inhabit the characters as he reads. There was an enthusiasm in his voice that kept me listening with interest.

Having said that, the book was uneven. It raises a lot of provocative ideas about displacement, anger, art, friendship, love and of course martyrdom. The primary story is about Cyrus Sham, a troubled Iranian exile in Indiana in his late 20s. Cyrus is a mostly likeable, idealistic recovering addict. His relationships with his family and friends are well-drawn, and some of the plot twists are clever. But some twists are too clever; they stretch credibility. The chapters devoted to Cyrus’s dreams, with imagined dialog between, say, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his mother, are unhelpful distractions. I did not enjoy them.

But I am glad I read this book. The author is an original voice and a smart writer. I look forward to reading more of his work.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A Cold War Saga

Revisado: 11-12-24

John Downey is a little-known, unsung hero of the Cold War. Shot down during a covert CIA mission over Manchuria in 1952, he remained in Communist Chinese prisons for more than 20 years. He survived with courage, discipline and grace. According to this saga, Downey remained humble and likeable throughout his imprisonment. The book presents a full life, from a childhood at private schools and Yale to the CIA and Chinese prison to a low-key life following release in his native Connecticut, ultimately serving as a family court judge.

The book includes a lot of collateral history that’s fascinating, including digressions into the Dulles brothers, Allen and John Foster (perhaps the villains of the tale), who ran US foreign policy in the 1950s; Downey’s cousins Morton Downey, a popular singer of the 1930s, and his son Morton Jr., an early right-wing television provocateur; the Watergate hearings, and the development of Connecticut’s laws on termination of parental rights. While some of this seemed like filler, it was always interesting.

The narrator read like a newscaster, direct and businesslike. However, he often mispronounced Connecticut names, like that of former Governor Meskill and the Hartford Courant newspaper. It should be easy to find out these things before the narrator starts.

Overall, “Prisoner of Lies” offers a surprisingly interesting look at a troubled era in American history.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

The Political Gets Personal

Revisado: 09-20-24

The Spoiled Heart was a little odd. It mixed an engaging political and psychological novel with a melodramatic romance. Not the best combination. Throughout the novel, there is a thoughtful debate comparing the merits of a class-based union struggle and a diversity-based struggle. There is also an interesting subplot on cancellation and mob action. But the family drama that’s woven through the political story stretches credibility and weakens the novel. I often felt annoyed with the characters, and I’m not sure that was the author’s intent. By the end, however, I was impressed with the author’s ability to wrap things up in surprising ways.

The narrator was strong, bringing the right level of drama to the reading.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Wild Story, Well Told

Revisado: 09-15-24

I enjoyed this book so much. The characters were consistently entertaining (and disturbing); the plot was original, and I could not wait to learn what happened next. There was a lot of insight into the characters and what drove them. Even minor characters were well done.

Edoardo Ballerini is a favorite narrator, and he outdid himself here. Each character had a distinctive voice that fit perfectly.

Overall, one of my favorite reads in a long time.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Finding a Place

Revisado: 07-16-24

“Fervor” was both entertaining and thoughtful, almost philosophical in its consideration of the roles of Jews in modern British life. Members of the Rosenthal family, whose grandfather survived concentration camps and whose grandchildren wrestle with his legacy, are strong-willed and determined. They are also wildly eccentric. Hannah, the mother, writes shockingly frank memoirs about her family that embarrass the others. Tovyah, the youngest, goes to Oxford, where he resists a social life despite the encouragement of his “sort of Jewish” hallmate Kate, who narrates much of the novel. And Elsie, the middle child, is some kind of mystic, who may or may not have powers to communicate with the dead.

The novel’s digressions into Jewish history and mysticism fit well and are interesting. The novel takes some surprising turns, and I was always engaged to learn what would happen next. The narration was excellent.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A Well-Lived Life?

Revisado: 06-27-24

“The Great Mistake” is a clever novelization of the life of Andrew Haswell Green, the 19th Century municipal leader who was responsible for creating Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other New York cultural touchstones. Green is shown as a sensitive figure, ambitious but prudent. His closest relationship is with his friend Samuel Tilden, the New York governor and presidential candidate, another confirmed bachelor. There are some surprising, well-drawn characters in the novel. These include a maverick cop investigating Green’s 1903 murder and a ribald brothel owner who may have ties to Green’s killer. Some scenes were surprising as well, like a startling meeting among civic leaders debating the merits of a “central park” in Manhattan—why spend money on another park, when there were more important needs like roads and schools?

The narration was excellent. I enjoyed the book and also learned something about New York life in the nineteenth century.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Three Disparate Takes

Revisado: 06-01-24

“Choice” is more like three novellas than one novel, all strong and subtle. I will comment separately on each.

In the first, a man named Ayusha works in London publishing. He gradually chooses to live selflessly, eliminating meat, plastic and other modern conveniences from his life. This has an adverse impact on his economist husband Luke and their twins, Masha and Sasha. Ayusha becomes increasingly obsessed, while Luke tries to retain their careful life. The story is wild and sometimes upsetting, but Ayusha’s actions are rational from his perspective—rational but dangerous.

In the second story, a middling London professor is involved in a possible hit-and-run with her gig driver. She becomes obsessed with the driver, an Eritrean immigrant, as well as her British family’s role in India during the British Raj. She didn’t show much self-awareness, to me, and I found her choices annoying and her story the least interesting.

The third story is fascinating. An impoverished family in rural India is gifted a cow by a nongovernmental organization to lift them out of poverty. The unintended consequences are sometimes amusing, sometimes heartbreaking. As in the other stories, they raise questions about hopeful choices that result in, well, problems. The mother and her two children are beautifully drawn, fully sympathetic and good company.

Neel Mukherjee is a favorite writer. His novels are political, in the sense that governing policies and economics guide his characters, but never didactic or hectoring. He creates ethical challenges for his characters, but again he does it subtly and without bombast. Mukherjee gets people—their needs, their motivations, their frustrations. His earlier novel, “The Lives of Others,” was long but compelling, with beautifully realized characters from all economic backgrounds. “Choice” is shorter but similarly thoughtful and enjoyable.

The three narrators were uniformly excellent.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Strangers on a Train

Revisado: 04-20-24

I was absorbed by this unlikely story of a fleeing Russian conscript and a sophisticated Frenchwoman, together on a train heading east across Siberia. The characters seemed real, unlikely though the plot may have been. I wanted the conscript to escape, and I wanted the woman to be clever enough to help. The novel was great on detail; even the minor characters had well-drawn personalities. This was a fine quick listen, narrated well.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona