audiobook

Sagas and history – Iceland

Linda J

‘Saga Land’ was not what I was expecting – but then, the collaboration between broadcaster, Richard Fidler, and Kari Gislason, a writer and academic born in Iceland starts with multiple but different needs to investigate Icelandic history. So really, you could expect something unexpected.

Kári was born Iceland – the product of an affair, hidden by his father. In the spirit of his mother, he has travelled beyond Iceland to Australia (with her) but also discovered an impulsion to study Icelandic literature at university, rather than the law studies he first engaged in. 

‘Saga Land’ moves between the observations of journalist, Vidler, recollections of Gislason and the Icelandic sagas they wish to share.   

There are many different themes which flow through ‘Saga Land’ – providing an insight to the culture of Iceland. Honour, conflict, violence and family heritage are strong elements of the tales.

“Each character is responding to a situation in which violence seems necessary and ceaseless. And somehow, the saga… prompts us to see the strangeness of the characters’ behaviour in the light of their desires, their complexity as human beings.”

The different perspectives of Kari, a native of Iceland, and Vidler, an Australian journalist, provide an interesting balance. Kari’s investigations, as a returned Icelander, reveal a personal insight as he revisits his childhood home – though being half-Icelandic and in search of is heritage. Vidler provides journalistic structure, while being genuinely interested in Kari’s Icelandic heritage and, personally engaged.

What a great and inspiring learning experience for all (readers included). So it doesn’t really matter what I was first expecting when I picked up this book – it has given me a view of history, family heritage and culture perspectives I would have missed, had I not opened this book.

N.B. Another tale readers might enjoy is by Hannah Kent, Burial Rites – also set in Iceland, investigating the last women to be executed for murder in Iceland (an amazing literary debut for a young Australian author). Previously reviewed.

There is also a podcast you can visit, where Richard Vidler and Kari Gislason discuss the journey to create Saga Land if you want to hear from the authors.

Does Saga Land make you want to investigate your family heritage/culture?

Note – loved this as an audiobook/physical book combination. Especially when read by the co-authors, with authentic pronunciations of Icelandic names. (A bit like ‘reading’ Burial Rites by Hanna Kent)

Everything I never told you

Linda J

Should parents’ dreams be lived through the lives of their children? 

Before she married, Marilyn had dreams of becoming a doctor, but then children came along. Her dreams were different from her mother’s, but as a mother, she has great plans for her daughter, Lydia – to make up for what she didn’t achieve herself.

Unfortunately, this dream will not be fulfilled. At the age of 16, Lydia is dead.

The story opens with Lydia’s drowning in the lake near her home. As it unfolds, the intense passion Marilyn has for her daughter to achieve is revealed. The reasons for this drive are clearly tied to her own need to achieve which has been thwarted by marriage.

There are other frustrations in ‘Everything I Never Told You’, in a family which is loving but unable to communicate all they feel. In a small town which is slowly adjusting to multiculturalism, the Lees are a novelty. As a Chinese-American family, they struggle to blend in – a concept James, the father, had battled (though being American-born), and something Marilyn’s mother had warned them of when they first married.

As much as Marilyn dotes on Lydia, there is little attention given to her siblings, Nath and Hannah. Locked out of her attention, both Nath and Hannah fail to speak up about things their parents should really know – about themselves and things they observe about the family. And then it is too late.

Some may find the intensity of Marilyn’s efforts to drive Lydia’s future extreme. Similarly, the treatment of the family within the community and their lack of integration may seem harsh, but set in between the late 1950s and 1970s it is a reflection of life experiences for those with cultural differences.

‘Everything I Never Told You’ also shows how, even in a loving family, there can be differing perspectives on what happens day-to-day. Without good communication, things can go unsaid and misunderstandings arise. There are many examples of what-ifs and story-turns that occur because someone fails to say what they really think or know. Clearly, Lydia’s inability to voice her feelings has fatal consequences.

Some may be frustrated with the way the characters behave in ‘Everything I Never Told You’, but Celeste Ng’s debut novel (which took 8 years and 4 drafts to complete) is both moving and clever. It portrays an unimaginable family drama – the death of a child – and weaves past and present to explain how it came about. It leaves the question at the end – who is really responsible?

Following this best selling debut novel, Ng has written a second one, ‘Little Fires Everywhere’. She talked to Goodreads interviewer Janet Potter about teen drama, race, Twitter, and the fear of writing about a place you love. Read the interview here on  GoodReads.

Here, Celeste introduces ‘Everything I Never Told You’:

Are there times when you don’t speak up for fear of saying the wrong thing?

How might Lydia’s life have worked out better?

N.B. this is adult fiction but accessible for mature readers.

Mists and memories

Linda J

imageAxl and his wife Beatrice cannot understand why they can no longer have a candle in the darkness of their modest home at the edge of their village warren – but that is what had been decided. Struggling also with the taunts of unruly, undisciplined children and the vagueness overcoming other villagers, they decide to embark on a journey to see their son.

Even though, for an elderly couple, such a journey looms as an ominous unknown venture, they feel compelled to attempt it  – and so Ishiguro weaves a veil of intrigue over their travels, and they move amongst differing villages and cultural contexts.

Others they meet along the way include warriors out for revenge, misguided monks upholding tradition and rituals, outcastes of various types, and a brave, though elderly, knight – all with passions of their own, and ideals conflicting with one another.

The world Ishiguro has created has mystical elements, including a mist of forgetfulness, dragons, pixies and ogres. Within this, human spirit battles historical conflicts, myths of the past and present, and that ‘which-may-be-remembered-but-probably-shouldn’t’.

A powerful mist has robbed many of their memories – both good and bad – and Axl and Beatrice had seen evidence of this occurring more and more before they left on their journey. They too, strugged to recall much of their past, but in their hearts they sought to find their son, and so their journey begins.

‘The Buried Giant’ recalls parts of history – the conflict between the Saxons and the Britons, but talks of a time of forgetting when they live peacefully side by side. Niggling memories are what haunt those like Axl and Beatrice, Master Wistan and Sir Gawain, and suspicion and cultural beliefs hunt young Edwin from his native home.

Their fragmented journey together, where loyalties are tested time and again, make for a challenging tale of love, life and destiny. Yet another well crafted tale from Master Ishiguro, including a beautiful portrayal of love and marriage.

For a bit of a taster, listen to this audio excerpt. This is definitely a great book for an audio version – I really enjoyed hearing the different voices, so well expressed by David Horovitch.

For another, more extensive review read: http://www.theguardian.com/books/audio/2015/mar/04/kazuoishiguro-fiction

Is this multimodal reading?

Linda J

Life of Pi/ Water for Elephants/  Unpolished Gem/ The Night Circus/ Eyrie/ Burial Rites/

headphones-and-bookAll great books I have enjoyed recently; and all books I started using an Audible.com copy but finished with a physical book. Does this sound like you?

To be honest, I love the audible versions – especially those which involve obvious accents or strong voices. For example, in Water for Elephants, the elderly voice of Jacob Jankowski is an inspiring addition as the story is introduced. Listening to the Indian accent in Life of Pi, and the Chinese accents in Unpolished Gem is similarly authentic, and, as my car travels along my normal school-to-work routes, I also travel to places much further away.

In another way, the voicing of Burial Rites has been immensely helpful. Since it is set in Iceland, to be able to read the people- and place-names (without an authentic voice or knowledge of native pronunciations) is difficult. Cleverly, the reading also manages to distinguish between different voices and points of view by varying tone and volume to suit. And so I easily became well entrenched in the atmosphere of the grim story, as set by the tone and tempo of the story while it was read to me.

However, as I stated earlier, for each of these titles I have dipped in and out of both audio and print editions.

In one case, it was because my ereader ran out of power while I was on holidays – without the charger! I feverishly raided the stores till I found a print copy, and quickly finished the story. (And then had to beg/borrow/buy more, since I had relied on the store on my ereader!)

In the Night Circus, the movement of the book’s actions from one date to another made it difficult to keep track – and unlike Burial Rites the change of voice was not as clearcut or obvious. So once again, I found a print (library) copy.

It always surprises me how little I seem to have read when I do get my hands on a print copy, even after quite a few hours of listening in the car. It always seems as though I should be further into the story. Similarly, I am surprised how quickly I finish a print copy. Thus, I sometimes get impatient and want to read faster than the audio version – and move to the print edition. Then, the journey to work allows me to catch up with voices, tone and tempo – if the timing is right.

As I try to limit the piles of books which collect around my home, I am drawn more and more to ebooks and audio versions, though I find I still feel the need for both. I have, so far, avoided a print copy of Eyrie as I don’t want the expense and space taken by a hard cover book (though I might take a peek at a library copy one day, if I decide to revisit the oft poetic writing of Tim Winton).

What about you? Perhaps I just need to use my library more? (in conjunction with the audible versions?) But you do know how impatient you can be waiting to get your hands on the latest or hard-to-get editions!!

Any solutions? Advice?

Life of Pi – the book, the audio and the movie

Linda J

It’s been interesting getting into Life of Pi in a number of different ways, as I have read the book from both a paperback and while driving my car (obviously with an audio version…).

Life of Pi has been on my to-read bookshelf for some time and, of course, came to my attention again recently, when promotion of the movie began. By ‘reading’ using combined audio and paperback, I found an unusual richness was added to the story with the contribution of a quality audio production*.

Martel’s writing is where all the magic begins, however, as he tells the tale of a young Indian boy on his journey to manhood. Pi has struggled for many years with taunting at school, derived from his name, Piscine. In spite of this, (or because of this?) Pi is a strong willed young man with a great curiosity of life and how the world around him works.

With a somewhat unusual homelife as a zookeeper’s son (what child wouldn’t love to grow up in a zoo?), Pi has developed keen powers of observation of animals of all kinds – humans included. This awareness of animal behaviour provides a great background later in the story, when he is set adrift in a lifeboat with a menagerie of different animals. His survival skills are well and truly tested to the limit!

His questioning nature is also revealed as he digs into the 3 main religions which exist in his Indian homeland – Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. As a curious child, he seeks an understanding of the differences and similarities of these faiths, and commits to all 3 – much to the ire of each of his religious teachers!

A move by his family, away from the politics brewing in India, results in their journey on a Japanese cargo ship to Canada. Their zoo is dismantled and animals are sold afar; some of which journey on the ship with them. The tragic sinking of the cargo ship begins another section of the book, where Pi faces the many challenges of being afloat on a lifeboat with very unusual company – including Richard Parker!

Martel’s writing is memorable, poetic and so rich that it is believeable. It is a book to make you think long after you finish it. It is fantasy, but also holds many truthful observations within it, and doesn’t necessarily provide a neat ‘happy ending’. As a winner of the Man Booker Prize in 2002, Life of Pi has had many reviews over the years, and has now been made into an award winning film (which I can now see, having first read the book!)

What messages did Life of Pi relate to you? Is it a believeable tale? Or is it an abstraction from reality? An allegory about human existence perhaps?

* the Audible.com version of Life of Pi was well narrated – the Indian accent added so much to the story, and made it even more compelling to listen to Martel’s poetic tale.

You can also view the film trailer:

(I have now seen the movie, and while it was great, I do prefer the book!!)

Sensing an audiobook – Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Linda J

‘Linger’ continues the Mercy Falls trilogy, and this time I’m “reading” it as an audiobook – and this is probably one of the best series to have as an audiobook. I am currently loving the change of voices as the story continues, introducing new characters and complications, emphasised even more by different voices.

Just as in ‘Shiver’, there is a fabulous awareness of senses as the story continues. I can smell the musky odour of the wolves, feel the heat and contortions as wolves and humans ‘shift’, and sense the anxieties of everyone as they try to understand the nature of what is happening to them all.

With the introductions of new characters, and in this audio verision, new voices, new tensions and new problems arise. Passing the reins to a younger wolf, Beck has passed on great responsibility to Sam, with new wolves being created and needing some guidance. The tensions of young love also add to to the problems to be resolved in ‘Linger’.

Throughout, there is the awakening of the senses of Grace – is she the next to be shifted to wolverine form?

Maggie Stiefvater uses words perfectly and accurately to portray this tale – and the readers of the audiobook greatly enhance this… (Though not sure whether I dislike Cole because of his voice or what he says.)

To be continued…

‘Reading’ in the car

Linda J

I’m currently reading as I drive – by using an audio book version of ‘Inheritance of Loss’ by Kira Desai.

It’s an interesting exercise with these being my observations so far:

1.I need to have a fair way to drive (at least a half-hour journey or more…)

2. It’s great to have a book where the accents are acted out

3. It’s sometimes hard to catch a name (and guess how it’s spelt)

4. A talented narrator / reader makes all the difference (this one is a Penguin audiobook)

5. You can’t easily flick back to check your understanding

6. It’s probably best when you are alone! (Unless you regularly share interests with your passenger…)

inheritance-loss-bkpauk000086That said, I have enjoyed the experience – there would even be times that I would be tempted to stay in the car to continue with the story. And I am sure people have wondered what I might be laughing at as I drove by!

However, I have also found a copy of the book at a second hand bookshop (Brown’s Books in Springwood) so that I can check the place and character names I have been hearing. I can now ‘hear’ the voices of the characters as they ‘speak’ from the written page! I can still feel the book.  

And I don’t have to wait till I am in the car!

What have been your ‘reading’ experiences with audiobooks?