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James

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • 5
  • reviews
  • 50
  • helpful votes
  • 42
  • ratings

  • Les Miserables

  • By: Victor Hugo
  • Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
  • Length: 57 hrs and 48 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars 1,399
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars 789
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 804

Set in the Parisian underworld and plotted like a detective story, Les Miserables follows Jean Valjean, originally an honest peasant, who has been imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving family. A hardened criminal upon his release, he eventually reforms, becoming a successful industrialist and town mayor. Despite this, he is haunted by an impulsive former crime and is pursued relentlessly by the police inspector Javert.

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • I love this book - one of the best of all time

  • By Sher from Provo on 06-30-10

Excellent -- worth the investment

Overall
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-08-09

Takes a LONG time to listen to but well worth it. Narration is excellent. The only thing I will say is I found it odd that the narrator has an English accent given the amount of French in the translated text. Other than that, the narrator does an admirable job bringing characters to life over such a long novel. The quality of the narration is critical to making an audio book listenable. I have bought some books that were simply unlistenable but this one is excellent.

13 of 13 people found this review helpful

  • Don Quixote

  • By: Miguel de Cervantes, Tobias Smollett (translator)
  • Narrated by: Robert Whitfield
  • Length: 36 hrs and 7 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars 686
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars 306
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars 304

Don Quixote, the world's first novel and by far the best-known book in Spanish literature, was originally intended by Cervantes as a satire on traditional popular ballads, yet he also parodied the romances of chivalry. By happy coincidence he produced one of the most entertaining adventure stories of all time and, in Don Quixote and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, two of the greatest characters in fiction.

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • A MUST READ CLASSIC

  • By Randall on 04-25-09

Excellent

Overall
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-08-09

I was a little apprehensions about the length of this "book" and due to some of the comments about the narration. After having given it one listen I can attest to the quality of the narration and to the fact that it uses a good translation (Tobias Smollet) which I thoroughly enjoyed especially due to the "Shakespearean" quality of the text. The narration is very well done using different voice characterizations and a variety of British accents to differentiate each character. Very funny. "You are in the right, friend Sancho."

31 of 42 people found this review helpful

  • Player Piano

  • By: Kurt Vonnegut
  • Narrated by: Christian Rummel
  • Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars 650
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 508
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 513

Kurt Vonnegut's first novel spins the chilling tale of engineer Paul Proteus, who must find a way to live in a world dominated by a supercomputer and run completely by machines. Paul's rebellion is vintage Vonnegut – wildly funny, deadly serious, and terrifyingly close to reality.

  • 1 out of 5 stars

  • Poor narration

  • By Christopher Bowers on 09-18-17

Not Vonnegut's best effort.

Overall
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-12-08

I read this a long time ago and bought the A-B. There are some interesting insights in this book that have some application in todays "outsourced" economy. Funy in parts tiresome in others, the ending seems J-V was trying to meet a deadline.

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

  • When You Are Engulfed in Flames

  • By: David Sedaris
  • Narrated by: David Sedaris
  • Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 7,650
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 4,772
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 4,757

Once again, David Sedaris brings together a collection of essays so uproariously funny and profoundly moving that his legions of fans will fall for him all over again. He tests the limits of love when Hugh lances a boil from his backside, and pushes the boundaries of laziness when, finding the water shut off in his house in Normandy, he looks to the water in a vase of fresh cut flowers to fill the coffee machine.

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • Exceptional!

  • By troconn the destroyer on 10-01-09

Hilarious

Overall
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-12-08

Listened and re-listened to this. Very enjoyable. Sometimes you have to wonder if these things actually happened to him or not -- I assume they are based on fact -- however, they are so perfect you can't help believing some of this is made up. The story about quitting smoking is great and the one about his baby sitter is unforgettable.

  • Next

  • By: Michael Crichton
  • Narrated by: Dylan Baker
  • Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    3.5 out of 5 stars 1,922
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars 656
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars 665

Devilishly clever, Next blends fact and fiction into a breathless tale of a new world where nothing is what it seems, and a set of new possibilities can open at every turn. Next challenges our sense of reality and notions of morality. Balancing the comic and bizarre with the genuinely frightening and disturbing, Next shatters our assumptions and reveals shocking new choices where we least expect.

  • 2 out of 5 stars

  • interesting topic - dull, boring, confusing book

  • By Ronald on 12-09-06

Not so good

Overall
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-10-08

A series of interconnecting -- sort of -- stories that are somewhere between unconvincing and far fetched. A half human half chimp named Dave? An intelligent talking African Grey parrot? Come on. The author obviously had an axe or two to grind regarding views on the ethical intricacies of biotechnology, the bio-tech industry and American patent legislation. I guess the question is does that form the basis of a half-decent page-turner? For me -- not so much.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful