voices

I have gotten quite attached to 'reading' audio-books on CD during my commute to and from work. It makes a nice change from listening to radio stations saturated with ads or listening to depressing news broadcasts. It also is a great way to cram a little culture in an otherwise busy day.

One thing that I have noticed is that the narrator's voice adds a whole new dimension into whether you like a book or not. While the material does not change, the voice, timbre, accent, punctuation, flexibility and rythm of the narrator can add so much, or detract so much from the material, that it can totally change your perception of the book. My husband and I recently listened to 'the kite flyer' on book cd during our respective commutes, and while I liked the heavy persian accent of the author & narrator, my husband did not care for it, found it difficult to understand and couldn't finish the book. Had he simply read the book, he probaly would have enjoyed it.

Currently I'm listening to a classic: 'lolita' by Nabakov, read by Jeremy Irons, who also starred as the male lead in the same film. Mr. Iron's reading is done superbly (as was his acting in the film). The book is heavy on prose, elaborations and distrations as it journeys the story of Humbert Humbert. Yet, while on paper, that might actually make it hard to get through at times, Jeremy Irons makes it effortless. He switches between voices, male and female, american and english, without spoofing or overdoing, soft and sensual, changes the pacing and intonations to match the story, now delirious and manic, to caring and soft, then factual and cruel. He mimmics a besotted man mentally retelling a story, with humor, heart and truth. Beautifully done. Highly recommend it if you have the time, though not for those of puritan morals (doubt any of my friends are that type anyway). The full book is 10 cds - most public libraries have it in inventory.