Sylvia

Delightful! Clever! British!

Montmorency...but I don't want to give away who

No- but when I tried the other excerpts, I had to admit that Jarvis' rendition was far and away superior...at least for my tastes.

I was pleasantly surprised by unexpected turns in the descriptions or storyline that made me chuckle or laugh. Some of the descriptive prose carried me away, enabling me to vividly imagine different times and places. The ebb and flow of comedy and description kept my attention well.

This is wonderfully funny period book. If you don't like British accents or books about British life in the 19th century, then give it a miss. But if you like things like Jeeves and Wooster (by P.G. Wodehouse), or Rumpole, or some of the BBC comedies available on TV, you might give this a try. It is a mixture of absurb situations and absolutely beautiful descriptive prose! You have to really sit and listen, though, to appreciate it. Listening to this book is like having a friend sitting by the fireside relating his thoughts and his history. The interplay of comedic moments with some of the most beautiful prose I have ever heard makes this book a special favorite. (Stick with it into chapter two to hear the descriptions of the river to experience the beautiful prose.) It is possible that some people might be irritated by the narrator, and this is, of course, strictly a matter of personal taste. I happen to feel that Jarvis has just the right personality, ability to express the characters and situations, and manner to narrate this audiobook. But, as I said, sometimes the enjoyment of the narrator is strictly personal and has little to do with the skillfulness of the narration. Jarvis sounds like he is actually the author relating his own experience and thoughts. Some of the other versions sounded like just narration. The music between chapters is just wonderful. It helps draw one into the proper mood of things. Can you tell that I thoroughly enjoyed this very clever old story?

Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni was my favorite character because he is so genuine and humble and honest and compassionate. Also, he truly respects and cherishes Mma Ramotswe.

Equally as good.

Absolutely! With all of this series, one wants to find out what will happen and how it will happen. Often there are unexpected turns of plot. Also, there is quite a bit of philosophy to mull over. But, if you are not fond of mulling, or just not in the mood, the situations and conversations in the book are delightful and engaging enough for you to just play the part of audience.

I find it interesting that many ethical and spiritual questions are raised in these books. I have had quite a lot of food for thought as I read through the series!

Yes! Even though the situations in the story are no longer a mystery to me, the charming narrator brings the characters so much to life that I would feel like I was visitng with friends.

In this book, Mma Ramotswe is challenged with a dilemma from her past. It looks like she may not apply to her own life the very wisdom she so freely dispenses to others. It really does look that way. What will happen? You cannot assume that everything will turn out alright. After all, as she often says, "There is so much suffering in Africa..."

This is just as good as all her other readings of Smith's books.

The fear of and inability to resist her former husband's dominance was both touching and chilling. This made her seem all the more real.

My father, when he would find a good parking space (which, in New York City, was not an easy feat) would say it was because, "I live right!" Mma Ramotswe might not always make the best decisions when it comes to her own life, but, overall, she "lives right" and the circumstances, ultimately, conspire to take care of her!

This book, very well-narrated by its author, helped me to reduce the stress in my life. Through its overview of many philosophies of life ranging from the ancient Greeks and Romans on up through today, I came to understand that I was always looking for things to be okay, secure, positive. By this thinking, I was also always aware of how much things were not, in fact, okay, secure, positive. This generated a good deal of anxiety for me. I came to realize that many things happened in life and it was not so much what happened, but my judgment of it that had the power to make me feel good or badly about it. Basically, I learned that it is okay to take life moment by moment and take the bad with the good. When I write this, it sounds so insipid. You just have to listen to this book.

Let me tell you that one major thing I enjoyed about it is that the author is not trying to convince you of anything. He is presenting what he has learned, so you can make your own choices and decisions. I think any individual hearing this book will be struck by totally different things than another individual. The information in the book was very enlightening. The only fault I found with it is that a great deal of emphasis was put on current popularized evangelical Christian philosophy and very little upon Catholic philosophy which today, as for the past 2000 years, has remained constant. Catholic philosophy actually melds well with many of the premises in this book (about accepting the negative in life and allowing life to remain a mystery and to appreciate that). But the author pretty much ignored it. Nonetheless, the book is definitely worthwhile for anyone with stress or anxiety, uncertainty or insecurity in his/her life. I think those of us who were teens or in our 20s during the 1960s would particularly enjoy it.

Yes indeed! The story is complex-enough that I am sure I missed many interesting and pertinent details. It is written and performed so enjoyably that it is a pleasure just to hear, even as background noise,much like a TV can sometimes be a friendly accompaniment. It can be tuned in or out of one's hearing like the conversations of a groups of visitors.

I liked best the attitude of the main character. She is plucky, yet has a realistic dollop of normal human insecurity thrown in so that one almost feels as if "it could've all really happened".

The voice characterizations are so convincing that I always knew who was speaking. One would think that a woman could never do men's voices well. But she, somehow, in her woman's voice, conveys when men are speaking, and one believes they ARE the men of the story.

The events of the end were horrifying. I was concerned, as I heard them, that I would be upset once the story was done. But, the story proved a real murder mystery and, even so, had a happy ending, so that the final awful cliff-hanger events did not ruin my day! This author, along with the artful reading by the narrator, has an ability to start off at a comfortably pleasant pace, and then, as the story goes on, a snowball begins to form and rolls downhill, ever faster and growing larger. The excitement builds and it becomes hard to "put it down" till one reaches the climax!

A wonderful Christmas-time listen! Well worth setting aside time for! Nice for a group of murder mystery buffs (with good senses of humor) who also like a little romance. A bit reminiscent of Jeeves and Wooster-type stories, but not quite as goofy (and PG Wodehouse IS my fav author, by the way)!

Sounded like the narrator was the one to whom it actually happened. It had happy endings.

The pancake restaurant gathering with the high school classmates.

I definitely laughed at some of the eccentric characters and humorous situations. And I did cry both for sadness and happiness!

This is a lovely story about a young woman who finds a way to put her broken life back together and achieve happiness while also being the innkeeper who houses 2 other people who also find ways to put their own lives back together and find happiness. I really enjoyed it. Nothing particularly significant about the book- just a nice, feel-good story.

The audio version is better. The way the book is written, it is meant to be "narrated". The language (in the print version) reads "stilted". But the audible version brings the characters to life, allowing the language to seem natural for the characters.

No

The story is so interesting and unusual. I could hardly put it down! If you like the sample, you will like the entire thing! If you don't like the sample, then give it a miss.

This book is delightful! It is actually a love story, but you don't realize it until the last few chapters. In the meantime, there is all sorts of intriguing information about life in India as a Hindu, a Muslim, and a Christian. The narration is fantastic. It is so good that I felt as if I knew the characters personally. In fact, I wish I really did! I couldn't stop listening!
I enjoyed learning about castes and marriage customs and family values, as well as "the changing India" with more modern times taking over. The progress of the story kept my interest totally. Throughout the entire book, I kept wanting to know what happened to each character. And each situation was resolved artfully by the author, and enhanced by the excellent narration! I actually listened to many sections several times because the turns of phrase were so expressive and interesting to hear!

The unexpected proposal! (Don't want to ruin it for you!)

Her accent and voice are nice to listen to. The pronunciations were interesting and charming. Good expression and emotion. I could easily tell which character was speaking.

I couldn't stop listening. I put it on my iPhone with the audible app and clipped it to me and listened whenever I could! I cried with compassion for Aruna and also for happiness. The excellent narration and the story itself got me really wound up into it. I wish it was 2 or 3 times as long as it is! The family values were so uplifting! And I did laugh at many points in the story.

This is a book that will be delightful to listen to, extremely interesting, and will make you feel good! Sometimes we need just such a book in our lives.

A funny, funny (in a dry humor, tongue-in-cheek, sort of way) book that is fascinating! Full of surprises and unexpected events. I am enjoying it sooo much! And the narrator is perfect! I listen to it on my audible.com app on my iPhone and laugh out loud a lot. I imagine, that when I am driving and the phone sits on the dash playing away, and I guffaw for several seconds, other drivers must get a bit alarmed, since there appears to be no obvious reason for my behavior. Take a listen to it and you will understand! Highly recommended!

Sounds almost as if he is narrating something about which he has personal knowledge. Like he, himself, had witnessed the events!

If I had the uninterrupted time I would. As it was, this afternoon, for instance, my dog tore apart several things in the other room while I listened to the book, rapt, and oblivious to the noises from the other end of the house! The book REALLY engages me!!!

If you know someone with a dry sense of humor or who likes quirky stories, this is the book for them! What a wonderful gift it would make for the holiday season! Thoroughly entertaining! I could imagine a group sitting and listening...and laughing and laughing! Why, they might even want to pause the reading and discuss parts of the story, considering how much history is brought up in it! A book that would be of interest and understandable equally for Europeans and Americans, which is not all that common among books.

LK was as much on her game in 18 as in any of her other Plum narrations.

Some one gave this audiobook a review that was less than favorable. I felt I had to write one and tell everyone that this IS a fun book! The plot is not developed with quite as much intensity as, say 16, but it is acceptable. I really enjoyed it that Stephanie has finally loosened up some. As with the other books, there were places where I laughed out loud. I smiled a lot. While it did not keep me on the edge of my (car) seat, I did listen to it whenever I got into the car. I made myself not listen in the house because it is such a lovely distraction while in the car. Even though this story is not as involved or as intense as some of the others, if you like Stephanie, you will enjoy it. It's like hearing news about a friend. I would recommend it!