Among Others

By: Jo Walton

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Startling, unusual, and yet irresistably readable, Among Others is at once the compelling story of a young woman struggling to escape a troubled childhood, a brilliant diary of first encounters with the great novels of modern fantasy and SF, and a spellbinding tale of escape from ancient enchantment.

Raised by a half-mad mother who dabbled in magic, Morwenna Phelps found refuge in two worlds. As a child growing up in Wales, she played among the spirits who made their homes in industrial ruins. But her mind found freedom and promise in the science-fiction novels that were her closest companions. Then her mother tried to bend the spirits to dark ends, and Mori was forced to confront her in a magical battle that left her crippled - and her twin sister dead.

Fleeing to her father, whom she barely knew, Mori was sent to boarding school in England - a place all but devoid of true magic. There, outcast and alone, she tempted fate by doing magic herself, in an attempt to find a circle of like-minded friends. But her magic also drew the attention of her mother, bringing about a reckoning that could no longer be put off.

Combining elements of autobiography with flights of imagination in the manner of novels like Jonathan Lethem's The Fortress of Solitude, this is potentially a breakout book for an author whose genius has already been hailed by peers like Kelly Link, Sarah Weinman, and Ursula K. Le Guin.

©2010 Jo Walton (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Hugo Award, Best Novel, 2012
• Nebula Award, Best Novel, 2011

“Walton succeeds admirably. Her novel is a wonder and a joy.” (The New York Times)

"Katherine Kellgren’s Welsh accent, with its lyrical cadences, suggests that audio may be the most authentic way to experience this 2011 winner of the Nebula Award." ( Audiofile)

A Paen to a SciFi Childhood, Hugo, Nebula Winner

Among Others is a book made alive by audio- reading the book could never bring alive the various accents.

The book won both the Hugo and Nebula, though it is much different in style than previous winners. The ambiguity of the book title reflects the central question(s) for the teenaged protagonist: are the Others that she should live among other human beings or fairies? Do you live among or with others? How do you live among either or both set of others without going insane or even dying? And the real question that she cannot know she is exploring is: how to do this at that very tricky time of life of being a teenager when just living with yourself is pretty tough?

The one weakness to me of the book is that in the middle it becomes more of laundry list of science books that the protagonist is reading at the time at school. While it was a delight to see that Jo Walton liked the books I did and to make a mental list of what I should add to my reading list, at some point I was wondering if we've ever get to back to the intriguing plot line started in the opening.

Power through- Walton does get back that to it in a compelling and emotionally satisfying way.

Great read and share with your teenagers.

EXCELLENT!!

I absolutely loved this book. I wonder if George R.R. Martin ever read this and I wonder if hes kind of upset that he wasnt mentioned. Also, I wonder if hed agree with Morwena on her ideas about the other SF authors.

Pre-1980 SF fan field day

Slow but sweet plot about an academic semi-outcast, fairy-seeing, SF obsessed heroine coming of age. I knew enough of the litany of books and authors the main character mentions to enjoy it. I need to look for the print edition of this to see if it has a bibliography. I downloaded this years ago because I love(d) Katherine Kellgren, but I only just listened to the end recently upon finding out about her passing. She is fabulous here as always. I don’t know what a Welsh accent sounds like so I’m good with hers. What a treasure to have so much of her work available through Audible.

An ode to the 70s SF books

if you believe in the transformatory magic of books, enjoy a coming of age story and if you spefically are into 70s era of SF this is an endearing nostalgic read but if you actually are looking for a great scifi/fantasy story with the plot and the characters and won a Hugo because of that, I am not sure this is it..

Magical & entertaining

What made the experience of listening to Among Others the most enjoyable?

Katherine Kellgren, the reader of this audiobook, was so delightful to listen to. Her voices, her pace, her animation was absolutely delightful and drew me in, really coloring the story for me.

What other book might you compare Among Others to and why?

There is no comparison. A book full of magic and, well, other books!

What does Katherine Kellgren bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She read it perfectly. Her tone, her different accents - she was very good at switching between characters during their dialogue. Absolutely magnificent job.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Of course, but my life/job makes that impossible unfortunately.

Any additional comments?

The best audio book I've ever listened to. I give as much praise to the writer as to the reader on this one. A brilliant story line that was brought even more to life by the narration. Bravo!

I Really Do Not Understand The Critical Acclaim

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, the pacing is too slow.

Has Among Others turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

What three words best describe Katherine Kellgren’s performance?

Authentic, tedious, sing-song

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No.

Any additional comments?

I fail to understand the critical acclaim that has been given to this work. While it IS my first listen with this author and narrator, I found the work to be concerned with daily minutiae
that was of little interest to me. A tedious listen.

Simply Bril

Was impressed by the actress. Especially When the English influenced the Welsh a little as Mor stayed in school

Wonderful book if you're okay with a relaxed pace.

This is the kind of book that slowly unfolds itself. Audio blip in part 4 at 1.16.40.

Lovely

in some ways a love letter to early science fiction, among others combines a beautiful coming of age story with hope for this who feels they don't belong. I found it soothing, but also brilliant. It's a fantasy book about scifi that spends a lot of time talking about hos scifi is much better than fantasy. Read it.

I Think it Deserves the Hugo

There are several different ways you could go about narrating a book. You could simply read it aloud, you might go so far as to add inflection to the spoken parts. And if you want to stand out, you try to give each notable character a distinct voice. But if you seek to be as extraordinary as Katherine Kellgren, you must bring the story to life, imbue every word with color. There are some wonderful pieces online about the lengths Ms. Kellgren goes to achieve such dynamic performances, and it truly shows. The result is that this reading is anything but stayed, the narration achieving an artistic quality all its own. Of course, this means that it is even more a separate and distinct creature from the words on a printed page than any audiobook already is, and to some that might be a bad thing, possibly a very bad thing. But with a case such as this where the experience is far more about the person telling you the story than her story per se, the end result is truly delightful.

It is understandable that for someone used to traditional narration, this performance might take some getting used to, because the emphasis on reproducing the character's voice occasionally overrides clarity, requiring you to pay closer attention than you might be used to. But this is more than worth it because if you give in to this way of relating the story, it's very much like listening to Mori speaking to you through her diary entries rather than listening to a woman read.

This approach helps the presentation of the material immensely, since this is so much about one person's journey, her thoughts, fears, ambitions, and observational asides along the way. You cannot help but love this girl who has suffered so much but still loves so dearly in her own way.

As for the end, it is rather sudden, especially given how the beginning so wonderfully takes you by the hand and leads you deeper and deeper into a world where magic is real, but always deniable, infinitely subtle and incalculably powerful. This book is a nominee for the 2012 Hugo Award for best novel. And though there are other worthy candidates this year, I would be very happy if it won.