The American [Jimcin Edition]

By: Henry James

Narrated by: Jim Killavey

Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

During a trip to Europe, Christopher Newman, a wealthy American businessman, asks the charming Claire de Cintre to be his wife. To his dismay, he receives an icy reception from the heads of her family, who find Newman to be a vulgar example of the American privileged class. Brilliantly combining elements of comedy, tragedy, romance and melodrama, this tale of thwarted desire vividly contrasts nineteenth-century American and European manners.

© and (P) Jimcin Recordings

The American

It took a little while to get used to the reader's style, but once I did I found he carried very well both James's prose and the intense suspense he creates.

Great book, poor reader

My great pleasure in listening to this title could have been even greater if the reader had known how to pronounce French words.

Such annoying narration

I tried hard to enjoy the story line, which seemed promising. Killavey sounds like he is an early poor quality atrempt at electronically read text. He especially butchers narration of conversations, particularly what might be efforts to imitate French or British accents? Painful at times. Too bad.

Interesting but lacking

I love the author’s ability to narrate society in Newman’s time. However, the narrator was dull. The story was sad for me and incomplete.

Good book / poor narrator

Please consider before buying: The narrator reads in nearly a monotone and sounds like he has no idea how to do expression at all. There are certainly no accents or different voices for the different characters. He has a slight Boston accent and pronounces the word "picture" incorrectly. Since pictures are mentioned frequently, this becomes very irritating. I considered abandoning the book because of the boring narration. Very poor quality - very disappointing!

Gayle

I wish I had read the reviews before I purchased this title. I find it droning and boring to listen to. The reader spoils the story. And one would think he had never heard of some of the commonly used French words. This is my first Henry James novel and not a stimulating introduction.

Good book very poorly read

This is a nice enough novel, but the narration was droning, boring and heavily overcome with a bostonian accent. It ruined the audio version.

Reader ? Robot ?

The story is good enough to keep me interested but the reader has no concept of putting himself into the story and expressing the emotion behind the words. Every word is clearly enunciated and carefully spaced so that one has the impression of being read to by an automaton.

The voice matters

I really wanted to hear this book but the narrator's voice was dead and distracting. I guess I'll have to pick the actual book up at the Library.

get a new reader

This recording is less professional than other recorded books I've listened to. The reader has a pronounced east coast accent, and has no knowledge of French pronunciation - a problem when the book takes place in Paris, and there are French words scattered throughout the text. Having "toilettes" pronounced "toilets" would have Henry James rolling in his grave.