Audiophile
- 11
- reviews
- 47
- helpful votes
- 69
- ratings
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Scum of the Earth
- By: Alexander C. Kane
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 167
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 153
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 153
Ezra Barker is a traitor. When the Merg invaded Earth, he didn’t fight or even hide. He cooperated, helping them as they seized control of the planet and began their pillaging of its resources. While others toil away in mines and quarries, Ezra works an office job, helping his boss, The Senator, rule over the swath of territory given to her by the Merg. Sergeant Hayes is a brutal enforcer of the Merg’s rules. As an officer in the Health and Safety Department, he follows Merg orders, arresting, interrogating, and executing at their command.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Very different from other Kane novels.
- By Jul on 01-23-24
- Scum of the Earth
- By: Alexander C. Kane
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
Alexander C. Kane does it again
Reviewed: 01-21-24
Another terrific and imaginative book from Kane, who has a knack for making wildly unrealistic situations work by being attuned to the all-too-real ways humans and institutions work. If you haven’t discovered this author yet, you are in for a real treat. If you have, well, you won’t be disappointed. Here’s hoping there is a sequel in the works…
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3 people found this helpful
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Where'd You Go, Bernadette
- A Novel
- By: Maria Semple
- Narrated by: Kathleen Wilhoite
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 17,230
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15,448
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Story4 out of 5 stars 15,428
Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.
Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle - and people in general - has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Misleading cover contains excellent novel
- By JillHen on 01-28-16
- Where'd You Go, Bernadette
- A Novel
- By: Maria Semple
- Narrated by: Kathleen Wilhoite
Great performance and dialogue
Reviewed: 01-25-13
A very talented performer makes the witty dialogue in this book pop. At times the performance is over-the-top, but so are the characters so the two work well together. My only disappointment was the made-for-television end -- the author left too many loose ends and frustratingly implausible connections.
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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
- A Novel
- By: Rachel Joyce
- Narrated by: Jim Broadbent
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11,192
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 9,964
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 9,958
Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does, even down to how he butters his toast. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then one morning the mail arrives, and within the stack of quotidian minutiae is a letter addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl from a woman he hasn’t seen or heard from in twenty years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful Walkabout
- By FanB14 on 07-01-13
- The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
- A Novel
- By: Rachel Joyce
- Narrated by: Jim Broadbent
Prolonged suffering
Reviewed: 10-02-12
This is the story of a long, painful, slow slog of a pilgrimage. Perhaps it is fitting, then, that the story is also an interminably slow, long slog. While there is a good idea here, the author’s descriptions are dreadfully repetitive and the characters ultimately paper-thin. Still worse, are the never-ending build-ups to climaxes that ultimately fizzle. I am still kicking myself for listening to the whole thing when I should have given up after the first hour.
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26 people found this helpful
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The Family Fang
- By: Kevin Wilson
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,319
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,144
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,142
Performance artists Caleb and Camille Fang dedicated themselves to making great art. But when an artist's work lies in subverting normality, it can be difficult to raise well-adjusted children. Just ask Buster and Annie Fang. For as long as they can remember, they starred (unwillingly) in their parents' madcap pieces. But now that they are grown up, the chaos of their childhood has made it difficult to cope with life outside the fishbowl of their parents' strange world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful, Heart-wrenching, Shocking.
- By Amanda on 11-18-11
- The Family Fang
- By: Kevin Wilson
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
Truly creative
Reviewed: 09-05-12
This is one of the most creative stories I have read in a long time. So often, creativity in novels takes the form of novel literary devices and little else. Here, it is the story itself that is so unusual and so truly "new" feeling. The narrator is also excellent and well-suited to the author's writing style.
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1 person found this helpful
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State of Wonder
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Hope Davis
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 8,546
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,879
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Story4 out of 5 stars 6,857
Research scientist Dr. Marina Singh is sent to Brazil to track down her former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson, who seems to have disappeared in the Amazon while working on an extremely valuable new drug. The last person who was sent to find her died before he could complete his mission. Plagued by trepidation, Marina embarks on an odyssey into the insect-infested jungle in hopes of finding answers to the questions about her friend's death, her company's future, and her own past.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Do yourself a favor and listen to this book!
- By F. B. H. In TN on 06-10-11
- State of Wonder
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Hope Davis
Great characters, thought-provoking, enjoyable
Reviewed: 09-05-12
Another great read from Ann Patchett, and one that is even more thought-provoking than Bel Canto or the Magican's Assistant. The ending is satisfying in part because it leaves so many possibilities. I so wish there were a sequel -- but Patchett gives you enough to write one in your own head, so it is hard to object too much.
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1 person found this helpful
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The Night Circus
- A Novel
- By: Erin Morgenstern
- Narrated by: Jim Dale
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29,715
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26,707
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26,704
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway - a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Dreamlike Experience to Savor
- By Suzn F on 09-18-11
- The Night Circus
- A Novel
- By: Erin Morgenstern
- Narrated by: Jim Dale
The perfect match
Reviewed: 10-05-11
The Night Circus as narrated by Jim Dale represents the best of the audio book genre. Author and narrator are perfectly matched. Together they create a vivid, tantalizing tale that is simultaneously thought-provoking and romantic. The imagery alone is well worth the listen.
(For those who have listened to Dale's narration of the Harry Potter series, the audioboook feels a bit like Harry Potter for grown-ups -- although it manages to feel both more magical and more realistic.)
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Girl in Translation
- By: Jean Kwok
- Narrated by: Grayce Wey
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,663
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,235
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,235
When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor, she quickly begins a secret double life: exceptional schoolgirl during the day, Chinatown sweatshop worker in the evenings. Disguising the more difficult truths of her life-like the staggering degree of her poverty, the weight of her family's future resting on her shoulders, or her secret love for a factory boy who shares none of her talent or ambition-Kimberly learns to constantly translate not just her language but herself back and forth between the worlds she straddles.
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5 out of 5 stars
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This is a keeper
- By Suzette on 06-25-10
- Girl in Translation
- By: Jean Kwok
- Narrated by: Grayce Wey
Splendid
Reviewed: 08-07-10
This is a beautifully written book with compelling characters. Language plays a central role in this book, and left me with a renewed appreciation for how the constraints of one's language affects one's sense of self. The narration is also among the best I've heard. Highly recommended.
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9 people found this helpful
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Glass Houses
- By: Sandra Howard
- Narrated by: Jilly Bond
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 14
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 3
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Story2 out of 5 stars 2
Victoria James is at home awaiting a call from Downing Street, desperate for the telephone to ring but mindful of the impact a promotion could have on her husband and daughter. When she receives the summons, high office does indeed await her, and life will never be the same again. As a young, attractive female Minister, Victoria will be living in the public eye, challenged in her views at every turn. But nothing prepares her for what ultimately throws her off-balance: a love affair with a married man.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good listen!
- By John Shumadine on 10-12-10
- Glass Houses
- By: Sandra Howard
- Narrated by: Jilly Bond
Disappointing
Reviewed: 07-13-10
The characters were not believable, chapters seemed repetitive, and the narrator's voice for the protagonist's lover made him seem unhinged and unattractive contrary to the author's apparent intentions.
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Best Friends Forever
- A Novel
- By: Jennifer Weiner
- Narrated by: Kate Baldwin, Rick Holmes
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 162
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Story4 out of 5 stars 58
Addie Downs and Valerie Adler will be best friends forever. That's what Addie believes after Valerie moves across the street when they're both nine years old. But in the wake of betrayal during their teenage years, Val is swept into the popular crowd, while mousy, sullen Addie becomes her school's scapegoat.
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4 out of 5 stars
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enjoyable
- By suzanne on 07-25-09
- Best Friends Forever
- A Novel
- By: Jennifer Weiner
- Narrated by: Kate Baldwin, Rick Holmes
Great fun
Reviewed: 11-04-09
An enjoyable romp. Would have given it more stars were it not from the abridgement.
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3 people found this helpful
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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
- A Novel
- By: Jamie Ford
- Narrated by: Feodor Chin
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,171
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,732
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,730
In the opening pages of Jamie Ford's stunning debut, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Engaging and Lovely. Highly recommend.
- By Robert on 02-06-09
- Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
- A Novel
- By: Jamie Ford
- Narrated by: Feodor Chin
Tell, not show
Reviewed: 11-04-09
This audiobook has a charming story, a good plot line, and an excellent narrator. Yet the writing is at times painful. The author leaves nothing to the reader's imagination or conjecture, instead choosing to have the characters spell out their emotions and thoughts in unrealistic detail.
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4 people found this helpful