Thy Neighbor: A Novel

I’ve listened to many, many books which I have wanted to comment on however, I am not a master of words and feel inadequate to write a substantial review. But then I listen to a book like this and I tell myself screw it, just write something, anything, to let viewers know they won’t be wasting a credit by adding this to their library. You’ve already read the publisher's summary so you know what it is about. That is only a scratch on the surface of what you are in for with this book. And besides, it is worth a credit to hear the performance of Edoardo Ballerini who really is one of the best narrators on audible.

Edoardo Balerini has narrated only a few books, and I have come to love his voice and his skills. If you'd like a better book to listen to with him narrating, try Beautiful Ruin. This book initially astounds us with brilliant writing, and what at first sounds like an unusual woman's feeling for a male protagonist. The gimmick is clever enough: he bugs the houses of a number of his neighbors, and videotapes their domestic lives. So, he gets to have a unique perspective on their private comings-and-goings. Some of this is amusing, although much of it is torment, better kept private. By the middle of the book it becomes clear that the book has no plot, and is entirely about relationships. I know it is not PC to call this chick lit, but there it is, nonetheless. I was bored by the middle of the book. Everyone has his tragedies, including the protagonist, whose father killed his mother and then turned the gun on himself. This history leads us to a tormented life, and, through the spying, to many other tormented lives. I did not expect this, particularly because Mr. Balerini is so witty and can be so much fun when given the proper material. The protagonist and his erstwhile girlfriend are people about whom we care nothing, as they are both thoroughly schizoid (isolated and incapable of functioning in relationships). After a while I found myself begging for some plot. Norah Vincent can write, but disguising her "hero" as a man does not disguise the nature of what she writes.

I tried. I really did. I made it all the way through the first download before I threw in the towel. This story could have been written so much better. Hours of listening to a whiney, profane, self-centered young man excuse his own abberant behavior while blaming his parents for making him that way is just too much. Granted, he endured more than most in his young life but many people have faced as much and more and have been decent, caring, productive human beings in spite of, or because of, what they went through growing up. This is a re-write of an old story line which falls way short of adequate. Considering what he had to work with, the narrator did a good job. There, I found something positive to say.

Have listened to this for three hours and still can't get into it. I see no 'plot' evolving. The performance is good, but so far the 'story' sucks. I regret wasting a credit on this book. It is nothing like I expected. A book like this should come with some sort of warning about its content. I guess other people might find the content amusing, I do not.

Ballerini is one of my favorite narrators so I thought I would try this book. Publishers summary sounded interesting. The story is well written but is very disturbing, depressing and at times sickening. Not what I was looking for.

One of my favorites narrators!

I don't think there is a like able character anywhere in the story.