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ratings

549

REVIEWS

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HELPFUL VOTES

After This

UNABRIDGED
- by Alice McDermott
- Narrated by Martha Plimpton
After This

UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 58 mins)

By Alice McDermott

Narrated By Martha Plimpton

Overall
(46)
Performance
(2)
Story
(2)

Alice McDermott's masterful new novel is a vivd portrait of an American family caught at the crossroads of the tumultuous middle decades of the 20th century. Witty, compassionate, and wry, After This evokes the social, political, and spiritual upheavals of its time through the experiences of a working-class couple, John and Mary Keane, their four children, and the changes radiating through their Catholic community on Long Island.
Jeanne says: "A Jewel of a Book"
"AFTER THIS, I want to read or listen to more!"

Overall
Performance
Story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

AFTER THIS is very well written and narrated. There is not a false note anywhere.
For those of us who grew up in a similar milieu, this book is a "remembrance of things past". McDermott writes fine social histories populated with 3 dimensional characters, many with their own back-stories.
I have often turned to fiction when studying history. Yes, we need test books, lectures, articles,etc., but I find that by reading different authors who do diligent research in their genre are a great source of ancillary information and entertainment. Back door history at its best can be a great teaching/learning tool. This is a history narration I understand. I lived it. Well done Ms. McDermott and Ms.Plimpton!

What other book might you compare After This to and why?

THE EDGE OF SADNESS by Edwin O'Connor. Boston Irish in the 1950's. Pulitzer Prize winner.
Mary Gordon, Gail, Godwin, Madeline L'Engle - her personal history.

Have you listened to any of Martha Plimpton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

She gives a wonderful performance in this book. I will be looking for other narrations.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
The Help

UNABRIDGED
- by Kathryn Stockett
- Narrated by Jenna Lamia , Bahni Turpin , Octavia Spencer , Cassandra Campbell
The Help

UNABRIDGED (18 hrs and 19 mins)

By Kathryn Stockett

Narrated By Jenna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer, and others

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(24217)
Performance
(10921)
Story
(10945)

Why we think it’s a great listen: The most celebrated performance in all of Audible’s history, The Help has nearly 2,000 5-star reviews from your fellow listeners. We hear the print book’s not bad, either. In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another.
Jan says: "What a great surprise!"
"Lousy narration for a good book."

Overall
Performance
Story

In audio books narration is everything. Didn't the narrator for the first black maid READ THE BOOK???
Her timber was way off. What a waste. A's voice is described as low. Here, she sounds young (she is not). It is hard for me to differentiate her voice from the others done by the narrator. Badly done and not worth the listen. Read the book.

2 of 24 people found this review helpful

happybooker

After This

The Help

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