Taryn

I enjoyed listening to this book probably because I am living a little bit of this story with my 3 adult children right now. Eugenides describes them and their peers to a tee, their lifestyle, their behaviors, their beliefs that by being privledged and intellectual they have somehow reinvented life, love, sex, relationships, marriage, work, etc..... I think he did a great job of updating the marriage plot and I was neither bored nor disapointed. This is not, Middlesex, but it has its own merits and I think he succeeds.

I often wonder when I listen to or read a book that I find intolerably dull and boring, if perhaps I missed the point? Maybe more intellectual people than myself understood something I missed? I don't know, all I can say is that I gave it a shot and after the book was done I couldnt even tell you what happened as I couldnt follow the story and forgot whatever I heard a few minutes after listening. I have never listened to such a terrible narration. I am sure that many Native American narrators could have brought some life and excitement to the story- a great reader can make a mediocre book interesting- this narrator did the opposite. The story never captured me, the fables were boring, the characters poorly developed. The book just never seemed to come together into anything I found enlightening or different or significant. I don't recommend wasting your credits on this book.

I first read this book several months ago and fell in love with it. I talked my bookclub into reading it and decided to try the audio version since I didnt have time to reread. I was enchanted with the audioversion, the reader is absolutely the perfect HAROLD!!! The story unfolds slowly just like Harold's walk was painstakingly slow. Each encounter Harold has with the random strangers he meets, changes him and awakens his awareness about his life, his relationships, his mistakes and finally he finds his redemption. I have highly recommended this book to my friends and most have enjoyed it as much as I did. I think it's one of my favorites of the year!

Imagine a world without any of the basic medical tools we have today to diagnose and treat illness.Imagine having to use corpses of criminal for autopsies? Imagine the ignorance and superstition! As a nurse I always find these books fascinating. How did Physicians manage to treat their patients despite the lack of knowledge and lack of resources. How could murders ever be solved? It makes me thankful to live in the present century, and I find it fascinating to read (or listen in this case) to just how difficult everything was in those times.

I think this may be an earlier book by JJackson because it was not even close to her other books in any way. The characters were interesting but the story was flat. Even Ms. Jackson's amazing narration which, truthfully, I could probably enjoy listening to her read the dictionary, didnt save it. I recommend, A Grown Up Kind of Pretty, my favorite.

I enjoyed this book and think it would be a great book club pick. The exploration of grief from the perspective of 100 yrs ago was quite interesting to me as death is now one of our last taboo subjects. The parallel stories of the death of a marriage in the 1960's and the death of a lover in the 1900's was an interesting contrast. This book is all about the choices we make based on the societal norms of the time, grief and how we overcome and grow from it.

I have never lived with an alcoholic so for me this was an eye-opening account of the behavior and self-delusion that goes with this disease. I enjoyed the narration, it was totally realistic and brought the character to life. I would definately recommend it as an interesting analysis of people, what goes on behind closed doors and how you can never judge a person's life and happiness from what you see in their public persona!

Having recently listened to The Chaperone, the topic of the Orphan train intrigued me and I was eager to read more about it. This book contrasts the experience of a modern day "orphan" navigating the foster care system with the experience of a woman who experienced the Orphan Train as a child and how it affected her life. I enjoyed the way the book bounced between each time period drawing parallels between the common problems experienced by the orphaned children. The sadness of being unloved, the personality traits that are developed when you learn to mistrust, the attitudes of society. It also reminded me of The Language of Flowers. If you enjoyed either of these books I think that this would be a great choice. The only downside was the narrator, her narration was great except when she read with an Irish accent which was terrible. However, it didnt detract enough from the story to make it a difficult listening experience

For Masie fans this book does not disappoint. What I really enjoy about this series is that the author doesn't sensationalize with gory details, yet crafts a well thought out mystery plot. She is wonderful at describing the most routine daily life details of this time period, both for the upper and lower classes. I enjoy the fact that over the series of books Maisie is evolving emotionally, confronting her own demons and becoming more self aware. I love the narrator!

The reason I have enjoyed all Elizabeth's Straut's books are because she is amazing at character analysis. I wonder if she has a degree in psychology? She expertly crafts a story and while she does you slowly come to understand what makes each person who they are and why they do what they do. In this book a dysfunctional family is dissected, most of the characters are quite unlikeable but we grow to understand them. You so often wonder how certain roles are "assigned" in families during childhood and continue on throughout the lives of the siblings. The Burgess boys have these assigned roles and only through a major crisis do they finally learn some difficult truths, change their assumptions about themselves and their siblings, grow emotionally and move forward. I think the narrator was excellent, she totally kept my interest. I highly recommend this book.

I would have liked to give this no stars, but that wasn't possible. Thank God this was free. It was just awful. If this is what women want to listen to or read in 2013 its a sad commentary on our world. Pure garbage.