The Chronology of Water

A Memoir

By: Lidia Yuknavitch

Narrated by: Christina Delaine

Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

This is not your mother's memoir. In The Chronology of Water, Lidia Yuknavitch expertly moves the listener through issues of gender, sexuality, violence, and the family from the point of view of a lifelong swimmer turned artist. In writing that explores the nature of memoir itself, her story traces the effect of extreme grief on a young woman's developing sexuality that some define as untraditional because of her attraction to both men and women. Her emergence as a writer evolves at the same time and takes the narrator on a journey of addiction, self-destruction, and ultimately survival that finally comes in the shape of love and motherhood.

©2010 Lidia Yuknavitch (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This isn't a memoir 'about' addiction, abuse, or love: it's a triumphantly unrelenting look at a life buoyed by the power of the written word." ( Publishers Weekly)

Bad choice of narrator

The book is fantastic but the narrator’s delivery is forced and distracts from the story. Nails on a chalkboard.

Narrator is very obnoxious

I have a lot of respect for the author and I think I would've really enjoyed the book if I had read it. However, the narrator overacts the story so frequently and created a relationship of annoyance between me and the story. She impersonates accents, elongates and accentuates words excessively and overall makes the story really hard to listen to and pretentious sounding . Do yourself a favor and read this story instead of listening.

The narrator is beyond annoying to listen to

The narrator is beyond annoying to listen to and doesn't seem to fit the tone of the book well

Misfits

If you feel that you are a failure, a misfit, a fuck up, then read this. It'll do you a world of good.

Vicious, Moving, and Artful

What did you love best about The Chronology of Water?

Yuknavitch writes gorgeous sentences. I often found myself rewinding just to listen to the way she makes "a sentence hum" to paraphrase her own description of her writing.

What did you like best about this story?

Her life is shocking and sometimes difficult to stomach, but her nonlinear account of these events makes the narrative easier to read.

What three words best describe Christina Delaine’s performance?

Though there is no doubt in my mind that Delaine is a talented performer, her reading of this book sometimes overshadowed the writing. Her vocal patterns are artistic, certainly, but can be repetitive or overly theatrical. She has the tendency to go from very quiet to ear-piercingly loud, so I often had to keep my hand on the volume control.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Halfway through the book, I started to become disenchanted with the constant rage and self-destruction she depicts and re-enacts through language. Then there was a turning point near the end that put the rest in perspective.

Any additional comments?

Though this was an incredible book, I almost wish I had read it traditionally rather than listening to an audiobook. It's not that Delaine's performance ruined the book, rather I would have liked to take the book at my own pace with more neutral inflections.

Will never forget this book.

“I believe in art.”

This book is phenomenal and I’ll never be able to shake it from my brain and heart.

However. The narrator is beyond annoying. Screaming and sudden loud words jolted me from the story.

If I could do it again I would read the traditional
book.

deeply personal

the narrator's voice sounds like the author reading the book to you. she provides emphasis, emotion and drama to the reading unlike The polish ed consistent delivery of your typical good narrator.

The author's story is thorough and gives us messages to guide our lives.

a passionate book written by a passionate author and delivered by a passionate narrator

Don’t listen to the others. This reading is great.

The story is riveting, the writing fresh and masterful and the narration compelling. Lidia is bluntly honest about her life without bashing you over the head. Her insights are powerful. Christina puts listening to the book on a higher plane of emotion and experience than merely reading it yourself. Thank you ladies for sharing your story and talents with the world.

Lidia is genius. I might have to stop audio.

I am loving Lidia's writing and story. But the narrator is hard to listen to. Too dramatic. The soft voice that goes to loud is startling.

You must listen to this book

never has a book so full of emotion and language made me take short breaks because it was too much.....too much good. it made me want to be wild it made me glad to be a mother. it made me want to listen to it again. portions made me hit the repeat button over and over.it made me want to paint an impossible portrait of the book. it made me write a review.......i never do