Jan. 23, 2008.
Mariel of Redwall, book 4 of the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, 1991
Salamandastron, book 5 of the Redwall series, 1992. Both books narrated by Brian Jacques and read by a full cast. The Redwall books are a real pleasure and the series of audiobooks narrated by Jacques and a full cast which includes his son add another layer of enjoyment. My favorite parts are that all the songs are sung with instruments. I loved the Redwall books as a kid and my parents took me a Jacques book signing once. He speaks with a thick British accent and also as if he has a potato in his mouth, and is a born storyteller, the perfect narrator for his books.
My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult, 2004, narrated by . I got this book because a friend wanted me to read it. Unfortunately, it's a strong contender for My Least Favorite Novel of All Time. I wouldn't read another by this unfortunately prolific and bestselling author if you paid me. The story is told from multiple first person perspectives and narrated by various readers, a cutesy device that didn't really pay off for me, although I suppose it helps one keep track of which character is talking. But if the book is well written and interesting, why would you need help with this? Anyway, it's the story of a girl who is born with some sort of fatal disease. Her parents have their second child genetically engineered to be a donor to keep the first one alive; a third child is neglected. The story focuses on the emotional problems of the three, as teenagers, as well as their parents and some lawyers who get involved when the donor child takes the parents to court for forcing her to donate. The lawyers, coincidentally, were in love as teenagers and had a horrible breakup from which neither has recovered; they are reunited due to the case, as if the primary plot weren't annoying enough. Every single event, plot twist, backflash and character is hideously contrived and cliched, though not quite so much as the prose style.
Motherless Brooklyn, Jonathan Lethem, 1999, narrated by Frank Muller. I started this book while waiting for the plane to take me to Philadelphia for the first leg of our trip to Cameroon for our Peace Corps service, and reread it later in Cameroon. It was originally recommended to me by my dad, who got me into Lethem, one of my favorite writers. It's a fantastic novel though to flawed by to be Great, narrated by Lionel Essrog, and orphan with Tourette's who works for a detective agency run by a small time mobster, his patron Frank Minna. The first chapter - in which Lionel eats six White Castle burgers while on a stakeout - is unforgettable. (And also stirs up an unbearable longing for White Castles.) The amazing Tourette's studded narration is amazing and makes this book a must-read (God help me with this book-review-speak) and Lethem's apparent vendetta against Zen buddhism is also good for a sympathetic laugh; I only hope it wouldn't hurt Leonard Cohen's feelings too much. Sort of an homage to the classical noir detective novel, really its own thing.
March 18, 2008
Mossflower, book 2 in the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, 1988
The Bellmaker, book 7 in the Redwall series, 1994, both read by Brian Jacques and a full cast
I listened to both of these while driving to Williamsburg, Virginia for a long weekend with my mom. I enjoyed these too, but four was enough for me take a break from Redwall for a good long while. The series is good but you can tell he was making his living cranking out one a year; Redwall was the best and after a while they get quite repetitive.
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