P. Malan

I should have read more closely. This isn't a dramatized reading of the book, it's a radio play production, featuring a handful of voices (some of whom couldn't be bothered to stand near the mic) that was physically painful to endure.

I'm clearly stating only my own opinion, but I hated this. I couldn't understand much of what was said, I couldn't follow the story, I couldn't even finish. Probably the worst audiobook I've ever heard.

Godin books are almost always good, and rarely great. This one is awesome. It's stuffed full of aphorisms, so if you're feeling skeptical you can pick it apart as idealism, but I loved it.

The only thing to complain about for me is how slowly he reads the book. I'm quite glad the app allows me to adjust the playback speed -- even at 2x speed, listening and comprehension felt natural.

First of all, the narrator really showed up to work when he read this book. Fantastic performance.

Most of the time, if you love one book by an author, it's a reasonably safe bet that you'll at least enjoy other books by the same. This is a notable exception. This is definitely not a feel-good story, which I think has a lot of Harry Potter fans put off.

But it is a well-written book with an engaging story. It starts slowly, with a lot of flawed characters to introduce, and picks up intensity, but not necessarily speed, as it heads toward a climax that won't warm your heart.

If you're wondering whether to spend time listening to this one, the question to ask is whether you enjoy authors like Jeffrey Eugenides, whose novels leave readers feeling uncomfortable and conflicted, and not whether you enjoyed Rowling's other franchise. If you like a well-written, complex, but bleak story, this one is worth a listen.