Friday

By: Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Friday, a secret courier, is thrown into an assignment under the command of her employer, a man she knows only as "Boss". She operates from and over a near-future Earth in North America, a vulgar and chaotic land comprised of dozens of independent states. In America's disunion, Friday keeps her balance nimbly with quick, expeditious solutions as she conquers one calamity and scrape after another.

Please note: This audiobook includes adult content and themes.

©1982 by Robert A. Heinlein (P)1996 by Blackstone Audiobooks

Worth the credit

Not the best Heinlein novel by far, but still a quite refreshing story. The narrator really made the difference for me by giving this vagrant novel the tiny bit extra to keep it interesting and funny.

The best book ever written without a plot

I read a review of Friday as "The best book ever written without a plot."

I read that review after I read the book.

It's just about what happens to a woman called Friday, set against a background of a future where society is very different from how it is today.

It's dated now -- the book pre-dates the Internet but anticipates it, for example. So it's an interesting snapshot of what people in the 1970s would have thought of us in the 21st Century.

The world is at war (surprise, surprise) and Friday is a courier -- a dangerous job -- which involves getting physical objects past inquisitive border guards.

She's resourceful, sexy, sassy and fun.

One day, her whole world goes completely pear-shaped, and she has to dig herself out of a deep hole.

I liked the narration. The writing is engaging, the characters are charming and menacing by turns. All in all, a wonderful escapist read. I loved it.

Maybe not for guys?

I can't tell if my lack of enjoyment with this book was because I went into with the wrong mindset or because I'm a guy. The lead character is a very strong independent woman, well written and interesting. I just could not get into the book. However, every woman that I have talked to about this book has LOVED it. If my gender has nothing to do with why I didn't get into it, then it is because I went into with the absolute wrong mindset. I went into expecting a story. This is not a story, it is a fictional memoir. There is no grand payoff in the end. It is just a section of Friday's life. A very significant section, but really just a meandering part of her life. Maybe if I had known that I wouldn't have been disappointed when it ended without a particular resolution. Make sure you listen to this with that understanding and see if you like it better.

A good easy to listen story not spellbinding

Would you consider the audio edition of Friday to be better than the print version?

Absolutely

Who was your favorite character and why?

Friday. It was ALL about her

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The kind of girl you would love to date but could never marry.

Mediocre story, poor character realism

I didn't like it. Unrealistic characters. Nobody acts like that. Promising beginning, then falls flat.

An excellent examination of overcoming prejudice

Heinlien will examine & hammer home the short falls of human nature. He then will offer solutions to fit the reader!

A fun story, an irritating narration

Not a world view changing story. Very typical Heinlein story. A strong, independant, and open minded female lead. Considering when the story was written, a fair "prediction" of where the internet was headed. Overall a fun, action romp.
The narration, was a bit irritating. The most glaring glitch was the mis-pronunciation of the name of the town "Pembina". Glaring for two reasons, one, because it is mis-pronounced through MOST of the book. Two, because when it finally is pronounced correctly, it is the last time the word is spoken! This pretty much shines a spotlight on the error.

You could almost like this

This is one of my favorite later works of Heinlein. I purchased the original version with a male reader that left quite a bit to be desired. This reader seemed to portray the book substantially better... until the deadly words were encountered.
Please, readers, try to familiarize yourself with terms in science and, if necessary, military and quasi-military. The thing that kills an audio book worse than anything else is when the reader hasn't a clue what they're reading. The most egregious example of this in this book was the substitution of the word "commandment" for the title of "commandant". There were other instances, but this one just stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb.
If you can grit your teeth and avoid rolling your eyes (especially if listening while driving) when one of these goofs occurs, then the rest of the book is actually quite passable and well done.

Not Exactly What I Was Expecting

Robert Heinlein is my favorite author & I've read this particular book several times. When I saw that there was finally an unabridged audio version with a female narrator (don't get me started on male narrators being chosen to read books with first-person female protagonists), I was eager to start listening.

Unfortunately, the narrator is the reason that I'm unable to give this book five stars. There was just something about her delivery that made Friday & a few other characters sound *too* contemporary (when Heinlein's writing style relies heavily on mannerisms from the last century.) To her credit, she did a good job with "the Boss."

That isn't to say the narration was bad - she just failed to capture the main character for me. Otherwise, the author's voice comes through loud and clear - and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book as a good representation of RAH's work.

Narration Flawed

Would you consider the audio edition of Friday to be better than the print version?

While this is a story I enjoyed as a young adult, the audio version I found had issues.

What didn’t you like about Hillary Huber’s performance?

The voice of the narrator did not fit the image that the author created of the character she was portraying. Hillary Huber had the voice of someone who spent most of her life (40 or more year) screaming ending with a gravelly voice, not that of a young perfectly engineered woman.

Any additional comments?

The second issues was that 3 or 4 times in the narration phrase or sentences were repeated, which appear to be the result of poor editing.

While I gave this audio book 4 stars for the story the Overall rating was hurt by the choice of narrator and the quality of the editing.