Nola

I was very much looking forward to this book. It contains valuable and useful advice, stories, and examples of how boundaries are crucial to our well-being and healthy functioning as humans. However, at one point I found myself wondering if this was actually a bible study guide. Although I can respect the authors' spiritual/religious beliefs I think that referencing every statement to a passage in the bible overwhelms the simplicity of the message (regarding boundaries). I come from a christian background but found this a bit intrusive and off-key, so I am not sure how people of other faiths or who are not particularly religious would react. Does this mean that boundaries cannot be available to them?

I liked the story and was intrigued by how much impact one "little perfume" had. I found myself curious to know more about the Chanel firm - beyond Number 5 that is. Does a very good story of placing the story against cultural and historical background. I was not too keen on the narrator. Somewhat annoying voice, and her pronunciation of Coco sounded like Cuckoo, which got a bit wearing. I think she should stick to regular pronunciation for that word, and some of the other "foreign" words.

All in all a great book, and recommended for anyone wanting to know more about Chanel and the incredible importance of this product to the company.

I thought the narrator did a wonderful job, and expressed the characters well. The accents, tones of voice and inflections - all done beautifully. At first I found the harmonica interludes a bit jarring too, but as I got into the story I found them evocative and appropriate. Beautiful even. As a literary work, you won't need this review to tell you that this is such a crucial piece of American history that it should be on everyones reading list. Haunting and addictive - I found it hard to stop listening.

First off, the subject matter is great and I really think there is something here for anyone who wants to relate better - whether to family, friends or partners. Secondly, I always think it is great to have the book narrated by its author, because they understand and can impart the inflections and emphases they intended. In this case, she has made an effort not to go too fast, or theatrical and it is probably a good idea in terms of getting the content, but on the other hand she sounds like she just took two sleeping tablets. Her voice is way too soporific and I find myself tuning out...

I have not read the hard copy of this book, but I hope it is lengthier and weightier. This touches on some very important and useful concepts, but doesn't really delve too deeply. I will re-listen, but my feeling was - "is that all??" Also, apologies to the author, I found the narration to be less than great. She sounded like she may have taken a tranquilizer beforehand, or as if the tape was slowed down. A little distracting. Great concept and worthy of exploration, but this book is the beginning of that.

I really found the book interesting, and the ideas worth taking on. However, the narrator (the author) was so distracting that I could hardly listen. The dumb intonation, the yuk-yuk laughter and upward inflection at the end of every sentence made me feel like a not-so-bright kid being read an A-B-C book. Slowly. Also the music was appalling and unnecessary. Usually the author narrating is a good thing. In this case, it was not!
PS I am an Australian too - but Rhonda Byrne should not be allowed to narrate.