J.

loads of atmosphere

musing, quiet, not as clever or rollicking as Scotland Street series -author and listener try hard to put themselves in the time and place

rushing through the rain to the farm by bike - or perhaps the moment of looking up as the concert begins and there he is in the woodwind section

mostly told from La's point of view: she tries to understand everyone - farm folk were particularly nicely evoked

not nearly enough bookmark breaks for skipping forward and back in case you missed something: not even one per chapter, but something like one every eight chapters--drove me crazy!

Perhaps. It's something that few people would seek out on their own.

Somewhat less grim than her polemics, a witty fantasy.

Superb reading, showing fluency and thorough familiarity with the material and idiom. It made me able to pretend I was hearing the voice and thoughts of the author, as she projected them into her protagonist.

Migrations of a soul

Vivid descriptions of wonderful natural and social environments; no direct dialog or conversations; some devastating skewering of the follies of manners and institutions, as in essays; rambling plot and erratic pace, with many digressions and ellipses; humorous turns of phrase; interesting characters.

Not nearly enough pause breaks for skipping back if you miss one or two intricate sentences among the dense verbiage.

This doesn't apply, as it's a variety show; it would be a drag to read it without hearing it.

They can be brilliant, and their performance is good, but this sample isn't their best material.

The recurring dramas involving the father and his maladjusted son are the most memorable, and very funny.

No, it's more a box of assorted bonbons to come back to (several half-hour shows).

The sketches are snappy and reckless, the carefully arranged musical numbers something of a bore. No pause points to skip to except between whole shows.

nice friendly vibe and tribute to old vaudeville style--they are audibly enjoying what they do; but the lame sketches and pop-passe musical numbers, though accompanied by a very polished big band, don't hold up well these days

guest stars are accomplished: Penelope Keith's script allows her to point out that it's beneath her, which is supposed to be comic but it's all too true

one drawback: the voices of the 2 principals are not very distinctive from one another, so it's sometimes hard to follow the story with audio only

already started a novel

clear; pleasant; underemployed

not if I had to pay money

nice if you want to kick back and be entertained without engaging much brain

Probably

Presumably other Shakespeare plays have a similar treatment. Listening to this version of Henry V combines the advantages of dramatic expressive audio with those of a careful reading, with time to "read" explanatory notes in context--so it compares well with other versions of the same material.

There are multiple readers, which alternated to sort out the many characters and separate them from the explanatory material. Some of the readers are pretty lame (the one who plays the Dauphin is particularly awful), but the words are spoken clearly at a good moderate pace.

It stands on its own and is quite thorough. It's possible that eventually a few of the contemporary references will need to be updated (such as when the commentary suggests a modern equivalent to a historical person or event).

It's hard to put together a study guide that's at the right level for everyone, and strikes a tone that everyone will like. This one introduces itself as your companion at the theater, who mutters in your ear every time a character says something you might not understand; since it isn't an interactive computer program, it has to guess at what you don't know, and if you have any familiarity at all with Shakespeare you will find many of the "translations" unnecessary. But the historical background is very helpful. The Socratic "question and answer" interludes sound forced and stiffly scripted, as does the earnestly cheerful "let's dig in and really enjoy this marvellous writing!" encouragement along the way. Therefore it's good that you can listen to the whole reading without interruptions after you've taken the time to understand each scene with the help of the commentary. Although you don't get the visuals of a theatrical performance, if you see it onstage much of the play is usually cut out; so this is a deeper experience that allows you to hear more poetry without distraction.

one of the most entertaining listens--high density of zingers per minute

yes--some of my friends share the bitter sense of humor required to enjoy the clever writing

Atkinson's delivery serves the brilliant writing with clarity and character. Having a full cast helps keep the invisible action straight.

No, it's a set of sparkling half-hour television episodes. Space them out like savouries, and give each your full attention.

Pace is just right--the preposterous plots move swiftly, yet every word is crisply pronounced and emphasized--even the sarcastic "throwaway" lines.

Rollicking adventure, colorful, detailed, old-fashioned writing, long but elegant, lots of interesting characters. The reader's pace is just right, clarity and expression are very good; pronunciation of the French not great ("du" sounds like "doo"). Great choice for snowstorm or long dreary sick day.