Wonderful story but spoilt by the awful narration

I loved the book , have read it several times and have seen the TV dramatization several times but this for me was nearly spoilt by the standard of the recording. The tone of the narrators voice changed in different periods of the recording which I wonder was a fault in the production as on passage of narration would sound completely different to the next.

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Brilliant book but Audible version is awful.

The Buddha of Surburbia is a delight. It’s extremely frank, gloriously indecent, and perverse - and very funny. Be warned though it is raw and extremely explicit at times and definitely not for the easily offended.

Sadly though this Audible version is awful, it sounds like it’s recorded in an empty room on an old cassette recorder, and there’s something in the background, a TV or radio or something. Also the quality fluctuates from bad to worse and back again. As for the narrator himself, he sounds like one of my attempts to read out loud in English literature at school, although this does improve (or is it that I just got used to it?). Playing it at 1x2 helps a bit but not a lot. Also the chapters are out of sync, the physical book chapters starting in the middle of the Audible book chapters. Sadly this Audible version is a messy affair.

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Great book…

I loved the book and the TV version was great too. All the actors are just as you’d imagined them in the story. It’s so funny in parts, it made me laugh so much. The narrator does a good job, but the recording is so bad in parts.
Worth listening to though.

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A masterpiece!

Buddha of Suburbia is a much more subtle and complex novel than I thought it was going to be from watching one episode of the tv series as a kid, it is still so very pertinent in its observations and commentary. There is a lot of sex, for sure, and if he means it to or not, it is a lens through which to understand better the nature of the relationships. It’s a fascinating book, especially about ethnic minority identity in the U.K. and makes me wonder who else there is until Zadie Smith who even attempts to tread this ground with so much complex reality and honesty since.

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Good story, terrible editing

I enjoyed the story but it was spoilt by the editing of the narration. The narrator was fine it was just the editing. It was obviously not checked before being released. I listen to many audible books and this is the first time with this problem

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Funny and thought provoking story.

The audio book editing was very poor with poor continuation and footsteps in one part.

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Terrible Recording, Good Book.

The audio is echoey and even has the sound of people talking in the background. A disservice to an otherwise good book.

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Worst quality audiobook I had listened to

Worst quality audiobook I had listened to, you can clearly notice the start of a new recording session. I think at times the narrator left room while still reading and still recording.

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loved this book on first reading...

...just as enjoyable as an audiobook. Now working my way through the other Kureishi books on here.

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Great choice of narrator

Sound quality is slightly tinny but the performance is excellent, so just ignore it.

I’ve just watched the RSC’s adaptation of this and realised that I’d forgotten so much of this truly wonderful book.

Really really enjoyed it, and can’t recommend it enough. A modern classic.

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