Audio Book Review: Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George

I have read or listened to all of the Inspector Lynley books, and I am delighted that I found the latest, Just One Evil Act, one of the best. It is still incredibly lengthy, which is why I prefer to listen to the unabridged Audible version, but the story is tense throughout. More than half of the novel takes place in Italy which also added to the interest for me.

As with all audio books, the narration is critical. The divine Davinia Porter narrates this novel and her performance is just wonderful. In my experience, if an audio book is narrated by either Davinia Porter or Juliet Stevenson, you simply can't go wrong.

Elizabeth George achieves a better balance in this novel, in my view, between the various ongoing characters' stories. Barbara Havers throws herself into endless amounts of hot water trying to rescue her neighbour's daughter from being kidnapped. The circumstances of the abduction are particularly complicated, as is the apparent guilt and innocence of all involved.

There is also some lovely story for Lynley as he attempts to work through the final stages of grief from his wife's death, and find love again. Of course he also spends much of his time trying to save Barbara from herself and their superiors at Scotland Yard.

I don't seem to be able to help myself with these Elizabeth George novels, even though I have found some of the more recent installments tedious and difficult to finish. There must be a lot to be said for feeling familiar with the characters, because these characters have kept drawing me back. I like where Lynley is going in his life now, he doesn't seem to be taking himself quite so seriously, nor is he quite so pompous. Barbara may be chastened by the fallout from the events of this novel, but I hope she too will be back for more.

There is no crime series quite like this one, and I feel that George has done well to not only keep the momentum going with these characters, but also to improve her story telling craft. I eagerly await where she takes the series next.

Audio Book Heaven: My Two Favourite Listens This Year

Readers of this blog may know that I regularly listen to audio books. Let's not debate if such listening qualifies as reading, or any of that sort of nonsense.  There are differences between listening to a story being read and reading it yourself, of course, and I am always clear which I am talking about. Listening to an unabridged audio book is simply another way to absorb a story.  And frankly, the experience can be heavenly, depending on the beauty of the language and the skill of the narrator.  Audio books bring the magic of fiction, or non-fiction if you prefer, to those times when holding a book or e-reader would not be practical.  More stories, more of the time, who can lose?  The two that follow are pure bliss.

Prodigal Summer written and narrated by Barbara Kingsolver  was my introduction to this author.  I know a number of you love her work.  The plot comprises three, gently overlapping, stories set in the Appalachian area of the US.  Kingsolver's language and voice are hypnotic.  I found her storytelling, and gift for entwining nature metaphors in her prose, like nothing I have ever heard (or read) before.  I remember listening to this one mostly as I walked around my neighbourhood or was doing the dishes.  I can still hear her languid and lilting Appalachian drawl when I think about this story.  I remember just floating in the beauty of her prose.  The stories depict the natural flow and ebb of human relations, to each other and the environment; I loved the whole experience.

My second pick for a real audible standout, is Geraldine Brooks Caleb's Crossing.  This one is narrated by Jennifer Ehle who you may remember played Elizabeth Bennett in the 1995 miniseries of Pride and Prejudice.  I read Brooks first novel Year of Wonders earlier this year and loved it, so was keen to experience something else by her.  Brooks is a brilliant storyteller of historically themed fiction.  In Caleb's Crossing she incorporates the history of Martha's Vineyard, where she has made her own home with her family, with the story of Caleb, the first Native American to attend Harvard back in 1665.  Or at least, it is the fictionalised version of what might have been his story.  What is so intriguing with Brooks novels is that she always starts with one piece of historical fact, here the first Native American student at Harvard in 1665, and spins her magical tales from there.

The story is told from the point of view of Bethia, a young girl living on the island with her pioneering family, who secretly befriends the young boy Caleb.  This story was not what I expected or predicted.  It is tragic and soulful and I am in awe of what Brooks has achieved. 

Ehle's narration is equally impressive as she produces the Puritan English and Native American speech effortlessly.  This is the perfect example of where I know I have taken more from listening to the story being read by an expert, than I would have if I had struggled to imagine the unfamiliar language myself.

On average I have listened to one audio book per month for the last four years, and these two are as good as any I have heard.  I would recommend them to everyone.  Especially to those that have not yet been converted to the audio book or may be wondering where to start.

Review of Dune by Frank Herbert (audio book)

Breaking down the plot of Frank Herbert's science fiction epic Dune (1965) is probably more than I am capable of doing at this time of night.  I chose this audio book because I have rediscovered a love of science fiction this year and thought I should give this classic title a go.  I think the audio format worked well, as trying to read this dense volume may have defeated me.

Alright, the story takes place on the sand planet Arrakis.  The noble family of  Atreides have just taken up residence and assumed control of the planet and its lucrative spice industry, when the novel opens.   Duke Leto Atreides is assassinated early on, and the novel charts the rise of his son and heir, Paul Atreides as he attempts to avenge his father and reclaim control of the planet.

The plot is complex and has a very serious tone. There are many different interests struggling for ascendancy on the planet.  There is an overarching imperial force, which controls a number of planets, of which Arrakis is only one.  There is also a personal side to the plot, that makes it more than just a war story.  The Lady Jessica, Duke Leto's concubine and Paul's mother, plays a central role in the novel, as do a number of the late Duke's loyal retainers who are forced to scatter when the Duke is killed. 

The language of the novel is beautiful.  Herbert creates a believable arid and inhospitable desert world.  Like with so much good science fiction, it is the small details that make this alternate world seem real.  A great many words are given to describing the special suits that the desert tribes people, the Fremen, have to wear to survive.  The intricacies of the role of water and different rituals also add a richness to the narrative.  There are obviously too many aspects to the plot to go into.  Perhaps my favourite part of Arrakis, and I am sure I am not alone in this, are the giant predatory sand worms that eat every living and non livng thing in their path. It suffices to say that Paul Atreides's rise to power is fraught with challenge and difficulty.

As an aside, I feel it necessary to comment on the audio book production itself.  This audio book is the most elaborately "produced" I have listened to, and I am not sure if all the extra bells and whistles really worked for me.  There are many narrators, I think more than ten, for the different characters in the story.  This is unusual.  Often a single narrator will do the reading for an entire novel, altering their own voice for the various characters.  My real annoyance though, was with the overlay of music at certain times during the narration.   I found it distracting.  Overall these are small issues, but they are curious to me, so I have mentioned them.

This is a novel that I admire tremendously for its enormous scope and detailed execution.  I didn't fully enjoy the general tone of the novel, maybe the background music, underlining the portent and seriousness of events  was part of this problem.  The slipping in and out of religious themes, with associated fervour was a bit over the top at times for me too.

I am very glad I have experienced Dune, and would thoroughly recommended it to anyone who likes their sci-fi in grand and dramatic dallops.

Review: One Good Dog by Susan Wilson (audio)

I haven't been listening to as many audio books lately, not really sure what is going on there, as I continue to drive a lot with work. Truth be told I am probably walking less which is where the audio book really comes into its own for me.

Consequently it has taken a while for me to work my way through One Good Dog.  This does not do it justice, as One Good Dog is an original, wonderfully conceived and executed story.  There are two parallel stories really, one is of Adam March, a fallen executive who has to try and piece his life back together after a rash moment at his office costs him everything: his good name, his marriage, his lucrative work, just to begin.  The dog, later known as Chance, is a battle hardened pit-bull fighter.  I don't think one needs to be clairvoyant to see that man meets dog, dog meets man, and both learn something from each other.

The audio book was deftly narrated by two men (Fred Berman and Rick Adamson), corresponding to the two, first person points of view of Adam and Chance.  Susan Wilson is clearly a dog lover as the sections of the book told by Chance are insightful and often hilarious.  Adam's story also strikes a chord in relation to how easy it is for anyone to lose themselves in the modern quest for professional power, when they are running from unresolved personal demons.

While part of me wants to complain that at times it was all just a bit too sentimental for this cat lover, I can't honestly do that, because I still found myself laughing and crying at different times.  Wilson writes succinctly, and gloriously evokes a dog's eye view, which well and truly transforms this story of self discovery and redemption, into something unique and thoroughly entertaining.

A Novel for Australia Day "Cloudstreet" by Tim Winton (audiobook) read by Peter Hosking

I finished listening to the audiobook of Cloudstreet on my walk this afternoon.  I am struggling to find enough superlatives to do my feelings for this story justice.  I have read three other books by Tim Winton and really enjoyed them all, especially "The Riders", which is one of my all time favourite novels.

Cloudstreet is such an Australian story if there is such a thing.  It covers twenty years in the lives of two families from Western Australia, the Lambs and the Pickles, from the mid 1940s to the mid 1960s.  The families, both looking for a better life, move from small towns in WA to Perth where Sam Pickle has inherited an enormous ramshackle house on Cloudstreet.  The Lambs become the Pickles live in tenants in the cavernous house. 

Two more different families would be hard to imagine. Sam and Dolly Pickle are both hapless dreamers.  Sam is a gambler and Dolly an alcoholic.  Their children for much of the time are left to raise themselves.  The Lambs are God fearing, very hard working folk.  Both families bring more than their fair share of tragedy and hardship to the house.

The children of Sam and Dolly Pickle and Oriel and Lester Lamb grow up in Cloudstreet.  They combat poverty, disability and their parents' demons to try and make their way in a country that is also finding its identity at the time.  Winton does a wonderful job of combining a clear sense of what is happening in Australia at the time socially, with the personal stories and struggles of his characters.

For me Tim Winton is that rare thing, an author who marries truly beautiful writing with exceptional plotting and character development.  He is my favourite Australian author.  It was an absolute treat to listen to this story.  And if any of you are wanting to read (or listen to) a superbly written novel that is distinctly Australian I don't think you could do better than Cloudstreet.  The word that comes to mind to describe Cloudstreet best is a word that I don't think I have used before in a post because it can sound so naff and nauseating.   Cloudstreet is genuinely heartwarming.  I have met these wonderful, ordinary characters and I feel uplifted and the richer for it.

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon, Audio Book read by Davina Porter

I finish this year lighter and fitter than when it commenced.  I partially have Diana Gabaldon and Davina Porter to thank for this.  I listened to the audio book Dragonfly in Amber (the second book of the Outlander series) while pedalling on my exercise bike and jogging and walking around my local streets for forty enjoyable hours.

On many days, it was my interest to see what was happening in the lives of Claire and Jamie Fraser as they fought 18th Century foes, that compelled me to put trainers on and get active.

This of course touches on the issue of audio books, and are they the same as reading.  The answer is simple to me; of course listening to an audio book is not the same as reading, but what a brilliant way to consume a story!

The Outlander series is a timeslip series that follows Claire Randall who is an English nurse from the 1940s.  While on holiday with her husband in Scotland she stumbles across a circle of stones that transport her back to the mid eighteen century, where she becomes part of the world of Scottish highlanders and their struggle against the English powers.  Claire falls in love with the incredibly dashing, heroic and endlessly wonderful highland lord Jamie Fraser.  Dragonfly in Amber picks the story up in the 1960s, where Claire has returned to Scotland with her adult daughter. Claire's daughter knows nothing of her mother's past in a different century.  With the help of a historian, Roger, Claire brings us up to speed with events that transpired between the time her and Jamie left Paris at the end of Outlander, their efforts to stop the Jacobite rebellion that culminated in the bloody battle of Culloden in 1746.  We also learn why Claire returned to the twentieth century.  Wonderfully, Gabaldon leaves the reader with a massive cliffhanger at the end Dragonfly in Amber when the historian Roger, who has been listening to Claire's tale, reveals something that rocks her to her very core. 

Gabaldon has a talent for sustaining drama, and with Jamie, Claire and their extended entourage, she has created memorable characters that I kept wanting to rejoin on their seemingly endless adventure across Europe.  With audio books the quality of the narration is king (or queen as the case may be) and Davina Porter is simply superb as the narrator of this forty hour epic.  In addition to her remarkable skill at character voices, she injects the narration with the right sense of warmth and fun.

For me, audio books are about sheer enjoyment.  I still read as many books as ever, the audio books allow me to enjoy stories at times when I wouldn't be able to read, such as exercising, doing chores or long car journeys.  I am currently listening to Ken Follet's World Without End.  Like Dragonfly in Amber, it is an audio book without an apparent end, but I am loving it.  It is just so much fun and transforms forty minutes, of otherwise tedious exercise, into something that I can't wait to embrace each day.

Diana Gabaldon "Outlander"

I loved this book. People say they love things very easily these days but I really did dig this. Outlander is a fantastic, historical, romantic, time-travelling romp. It is a very lengthly romp; but in the end you can't believe it is over. Of course the story is not over. It continues in Dragonfly in Amber and I can't wait to read that one.

Who hasn't been captivated at some stage in their youth by the idea of travelling back in time? It is very easy for me to understand why Gabaldon has such an ardent following. You get swept away by these characters. And I am normally so cynical with romantic fiction. But she totally drew me in with plucky Clare and the strong but embattled Jamie. The host of supporting characters truly come alive as well.

In truth I did not read this book, but listened to the entire unabridged version as an audible book. I listened as I drove long distances in my car, I listened as I ironed and I listened as I briskly walked for exercise.

I know that unlike many of the dozens of books I have read in recent years, these characters will remain with me for many years to come. For some reason this book, that could have been so cliched, really sings. I would guess that Outlander will possibly appeal more to female readers; it certainly appealled to me. For sheer fun escapism, I thoroughly recommend it.