Love Lionel but not as a narrator

Absolutely adore this author and having listened to her speak at various festivals and having read almost everything she’s written, I am almost relieved that there is something she is not brilliant at! Actually stopped listening to this and will read instead. Would not however put me off listening to anything from her in future - she’s brilliant - just as long as she doesn’t narrate it if British accents are required!

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5 people found this helpful

Shriver's writing is wonderful, I love it.

Shriver's writing is wonderful, I love it. I still love this collection of short stories and really glad I bought it despite the dreadful accents Shriver attempts- as a native English person I cannot work out where most of them are supposed to be from, they really are Dick Van Dyke bad. Thankfully mostly she reads in her own accent and reads well.

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Domestic territorial conflict

14 hours is a long download – 10 short stories book-ended with 2 longish novellas, all on the theme of possession and rights, whether over property or another human being.

Lionel Shriver is undeniably razor-sharp and strident in her robust opinions on topics of the moment such as immigration, religion, property owning and the shortcomings of the millennial smart-phone generation, but the trouble with creating fiction as a vehicle to expound on these opinions and observations is that the characters Shriver creates (and there are a great many of them) are almost without exception unpleasant, unkind, unappealing, unsympathetic, uncompromising people.

There are plenty of sharp observations on marital and family relationships and the madness of aspects of today’s society, but 14 hours is a very long time to spend in these characters’ unrelieved company and Shriver’s entirely appropriate but unpleasant, grating, harsh, hard voice doesn’t make the experience any more enjoyable. Some of the stories are set in the UK and hearing the attempt of strongly American Shriver to speak like her idea of rough English speakers is one of the worst audio performances I’ve ever heard in my long audio-listening life!

The best, set in Africa,is KIlifi Creek, even though the arrogant, ignorant, selfish millennial protagonist is thoroughly unlikeable: a well-structured and memorable short story.

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1 person found this helpful

a very clever collection

I really enjoyed property . it was a clever idea to base a whole book of stories around one theme. All perspectives were covered. one disappointment was Lionel's narration. I usually love having the author read but she just doesn't have the voice for it and her accents were very off.

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Say what?

I normally love her novels, esp Kevin and later, but this is a strange affair. Most of the endings are visible from the beginning, as if you climbed a tree with binoculars not a handsaw. But the main fault isn't the stories themselves but Shriver's lack of aptitude as a voice artist. Why did she do it? A bigger royalty share? It is hopeless. Normally a monotone, she leavens the drudgery with accent and dialect, but she can't do accent and dialogue. One character was supposed to be somehow gaelic I felt, because he said wee for small. But I have no clue what flavour. Probably not Breton. Another had a crazy hybrid of West Country, Australian, working class London and speech impediment. It was way too poor and annoying to be comically hapless. At times it was actively intrusive as you really don't know what the characters say. Her attempt at a child's voice was like someone who'd only seen children from a distance. Her talent as a voice artist is only surpassed by her efforts as a cultural diplomat. Her editors and producer are to blame. Would they have let her typeset the print? Code the Kindle? Drive the delivery van. Just say no.

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3 people found this helpful

The accents, oh the accents!!

I LOVE Lionel. I've read/listened to so much of her work over and over again and having already read this collection I was excited to order it. The stories are great, but THE ACCENTS! It really detracted from the story as it was totally impossible to listen to any 'British' dialogue without total incredulity. What a shame- I can't believe no-one picked her up on it!!! Lots of the stories don't have British characters though- those ones are awesome.

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Narrator should really stick to writing !

Irish and ' Cotswolds' accents were off-putting or downright painful. Had to skip over the story with a 'Cotswolds' accent as it was so excruciating. Great writer but shockingly bad narrator :(

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Argh! Wish I'd read the reviews before purchasing

Although Lionel Shriver has sharp and sometimes witty observations on contemporary life, you don't usually turn to her for a bit of a giggle. Until this collection. And it is her narration that stops you in your tracks and provides the laugh. But it's only funny in the shock of the moment. Only amusing while you wonder how this has been produced and brought to market as a serious Audible offering.
Not since Dick Van Dyke has a cockney accent been so horribly and hilariously mangled. Sadly all the delivery, apart from the few stories requiring only straightforward narration, is painful on the ear. I'd go back over the collection to be more specific as to which of the stories are particularly bad, but I just can't bear to listen to it again.
The sad thing is that such poor narration is intrusive. It comes between the audience and the communication. So I have no idea how good the stories are. Clearly not good enough for this listener.

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