Anita

By: Keith Roberts

Narrated by: Nicola Barber

Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award, Fantasy, 2013

Award-winning author, narrator, and screenwriter Neil Gaiman personally selected this book, and, using the tools of the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), cast the narrator and produced this work for his audiobook label, Neil Gaiman Presents.

A few words from Neil on Anita: "Anita is an almost forgotten novel by one of the finest UK writers. But it is a favorite of mine. Anita works on two levels: on the one hand, the stories are a product of the 1960s - they come out of a swinging world and a "Georgy Girl" time, and Keith Roberts, then a young art director, has captured the feel of the sixties. At the same time, he writes about a teenage witch being brought up by her Granny; he writes about a young witch falling in love, getting her heart broken, about change and growing up and compromise, about what magic is and how you can lose it sometimes and how you can get it back. And the character of Anita's Granny is amazing, one of Keith Roberts' best characters…. [Anita] set the template for all the teenage witch stories that come after, and she did it better and more magically. I wanted these stories back in "print", where people could hear them and could fall in love with Anita and Granny, as I did."

Meet Anita Thompson: she's young, she's lovely, she's clever ... and she's a witch. A real one.

Anita lives in two worlds: the modern world of supermarkets and sports cars, radio and rock & roll, where she is a thoroughly modern girl with a thoroughly modern interest in boys and fast living and her own independence. But the ancient and rustic world of traditions, cauldrons, and familiars , where she and her Granny (a witch of the Old School, broom and all) invoke elemental spirits int he service of Him Wot's Down Under. She has senses no ordinary mortal can imagine (at least nine); with them, she can hear the voices of every creature of the night. She can changer her shape, call a drowned corpse from a lake, reverse the flow of time, and ride the Sea Serpent (there's only the one, you know; always has been -- always will be) deep into the ocean in the company of a mermaid, even though the modern world is trying to crowd aside -- and even change -- that world of witchcraft and magic. Yet, complicated as a young witch's life may become, Anita never loses her sense of fun, or her essential innocence.

When the Anita stories first appeared in Science Fantasy and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in the late 1960s, they were immediately recognized as a strikingly original departure for the author of such celebrated works as Pavane. One critic called the original 1970 collection of these stories a "treasure." This new volume presents the stories in the author's corrected, definitive texts, a new introduction by the author, and an additional story which did not appear in the first edition.

To hear more from Neil Gaiman on Anita, click here, or listen to the introduction at the beginning of the book itself.

Learn more about Neil Gaiman Presents and Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX).

©1990 The Estate of Keith Roberts (P)2011 Wildside Press LLC

Fun, but in pieces.

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

This was a fun little thing I could turn to again and again over the year that I've had it. Each chapter functions more as a short story than a continuing narrative, so it was awesome to have this along in my collection every time I finished another story just shy of reaching my destination while driving.

The performance of Nicola Barber was great, with distinctive voices for the characters, she lent a pleasant tone to the great short shots that I took in.

Enjoyable, but a bit uneven

This collection of stories is a bit uneven. However, on the whole the stories are enjoyable and entertaining. Nicola Barbers narration is terrific and pushes the entire book up a notch.

Best teen-age witch stories

What did you love best about Anita?

The author's world is consistent and the characters believable in the framework of that world, Gran an old-fashioned witch out of fairy tales, and Anita a typical 80's girl despite her magic powers.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Anita?

The last chapter.

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

The voices are wonderful--I wouldn't have a clue how Gran or John Strong should sound.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The outcome of the Sandpiper chapter made me at least smile.

Any additional comments?

These are traditional witches in the pre-Harry Potter, Satan-worship mold. Readers who are bothered by that, please avoid; but it's done in a light-hearted way, mainly just the oaths are reversed. It didn't bother me! And Anita is a lusty witch; nothing is explicit, but there is some innuendo.

Couldn't engage

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I couldn't get involved in this book. I have started listening to it several times, but it doesn't catch my interest

What could Keith Roberts have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Not sure what it is missing....just doesn't catch my interest

What aspect of Nicola Barber’s performance would you have changed?

The narrator did ok, not good or bad.

I would buy you this book! (if i could afford too)

I have a lot of love for this book. I don't think I would have ever of stumbled on to it by myself without the Neil Gaiman Presents feature, I am glad he did.

I love the way that Keith Roberts built up his rules of magic in this story, and how the mythology fitted together and how Anita at times didn't seem to realize the potential consequences or threats of her actions.

The structure of the story is also quite lovely, I want to choose to believe that Neil Gaiman's Graveyard's structure was inspired by this book. Each chapter could be picked up as an individual story, but Anita's world is fuller when read in sequence.

If you do get the chance, give this a listen.

Ho Hum Drum not much fun.

It has all the indicators of possibly being a good set of characters, world and story but it just didn't quite do it for me. I stopped half way through as the pattern of story seemed to repeat.

I was looking forward to a whole lot of short stories as i have been listening to some epic multi-book serieses. So initially i was wrapped as it was exactly what i wanted but it just didn't grow on me and seem to be repetative.

The orator was good and the feel of the story was good but....

Good but not great

What did you love best about Anita?

The grand mother was a charming/funny carter

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have given the story a villine or some main point to over come.

Have you listened to any of Nicola Barber’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was funny in parts but not much

Think a witch in the 1940s

Where does Anita rank among all the audiobooks you???ve listened to so far?

This book is fun and different but certainly old fashioned.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the attitude of Anita toward people and animals.

Have you listened to any of Nicola Barber???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to any Nicola Barber's other performances.

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

This book was fun but not a page turner.

Lots of Fun

Would you listen to Anita again? Why?

Absolutely - the short stories are something I see myself returning to - maybe around Halloween.

What other book might you compare Anita to and why?

Its' hard to say really, Anita is so different from most modern tales of young witches. She doesn't spend a lot of time dithering about what she wants to do and her experience of magic is rather unique. There's none of the self-justification that occupies so much of Urban Fiction.

Which character – as performed by Nicola Barber – was your favorite?

I loved Barber's performance as Anita's Gran - she is a hilarious old busybody.

Not as entertaining as expected

Would you try another book from Keith Roberts and/or Nicola Barber?

I would try again. One not as satisfying as expected book is enough to decide not trying others

If you???ve listened to books by Keith Roberts before, how does this one compare?

First time for Keith's

What about Nicola Barber???s performance did you like?

I did enjoy parts of the performance. The range of characters and the way Nicola defined them is the reason I am still listening to the book. I did stop for a few days half way thru but not because of the performance.

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

Interesting question whether it would make a movie worthwhile seeing. I think it would simply because a lot of the material could be rendered well in a visual media.

Any additional comments?

I have mixed feelings about the story line. There are enough scenes that I have enjoyed listening to. Some of the dialog between Anita and her grandmother made me smile. Would I buy it for someone else? Probably not. I certainly have not been able to listen to the book "in one sitting" like I have others. Still, regret is not a word I would use to describe how I fee. Maybe the next one will be better. And Nicola's interpretation is a plus. Will look for other books she has narrated