Audiobooks – Does the Narrator Make the Book?
Ever since I moved farther away from work, I’ve been listening to more audiobooks. So far, because I have the patience of a fruit fly, I’ve only listened to short audiobooks. For that reason, I always check the audiobooks in the young adult section first, but I’m always excited when I find a short book in regular fiction. This week, I listened to the abridged audiobook edition of The Killer’s Wife by Bill Floyd. The Killer’s Wife is about a serial killer’s ex-wife who has lived under an assumed name in a new town — until the father of a former victim tracks her down and reveals her to the media. There are lots of emotional and dramatic moments, and whenthe narrator reads them, she gets, well, emotional and dramatic. Even weepy. At times, it worked — it was in character. Yet at other times, it went on for too long, so I wanted to shake the heroine and shout “Shut up!” I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next, but I was struck by how overly dramatic and weepy the heroine was. Yet would someone who read the book in print or e-book have the same feelings about her? Or did the narrator’s style overemphasize the heroine’s emotions?
Most importantly, the narrator shouldn’t make me laugh during dramatic moments. The audiobook of James Patterson’s 1st to Die did just that. During an action scene, the narrator sped up his voice, speaking very excitedly. I laughed so hard I nearly drove off the road. The narrator just didn’t come off as natural to me. And don’t get me started on the audiobook of John Saul’s Punish the Sinners, where the hero confronts the evil priest and starts shouting a vile insult to him. The outburst was so loud that it startled me into laughter, something awkward and potentially dangerous while driving. Confrontation shouldn’t make me snort in amusement.
However, voices can also be too flat. I was so excited to find Ellen Hopkins’ Crank, a YA verse novel. I love YA novels in verse, especially Sonya Sones’ clever One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. Unfortunately, in Crank, the narrator performed in a disaffected teen voice. Sure, the narrator was a disaffected teen, but I didn’t want to spend rush hour with that voice. It went back to the library unfinished. I’ve listened to other YA novels on CD and never had the same problem.
While listening to Nancy Werlin’s The Rules of Survival,I taught myself how to change the CD in traffic. Crazy, I know, but I had to find out if the narrator Matt’s volatile mother would cross the line. Never once did the work of those narrators strike a false note. In both cases, I felt as if Heidi and Matt sat in the car, telling me about their lives. When Matt’s mother went on her rampages, the narrator dramatized it, but it felt believable, tragic rather than ludicrous.
A great narrator can make me believe in a book while I’m listening, even if I later sit back and think “Whoa, wait a minute…” After all, the narrator of Anthony Horowitz’s YA thriller Eagle Strike made me believe a teen-aged spy could survive ridiculous stunts — because he brought the characters to life, from teenagers to a pop star who just might be a crazed killer to infamous assassin Yassen Gregorovich. The narrator of Sharon G. Flake’s Bang! lost friends to violence, found himself abandoned during a horrible storm, endured a racist attack, dropped out of school,became a criminal, then a panhandler, all in a short period of time. Yet while listening to the voice of actor Dominic Hoffman, I was there, in the story, because I believed in him as the narrator Mann. He wasn’t just reading a book onto a CD. He lived the story for me.
So what do you think about the style of narration in audiobooks? We know that the narrator is one of the most crucial parts of the experience. A dull narrator can ruin even the most exciting book, but is it possible for the narrator to go too far when dramatizing narration? The best audiobook narrators make the characters come alive. They have to breathe life into dozens of different people. Some can pull it off without a hitch, while others struggle — especially when they do the voices of characters in another gender. Which narrators can pull this off and still make you believe that they are all these people?
-Anne Marble
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I agree with the comment about Dick Hill’s female voice. Sandra Burr has the same problem with her male voice. My favorite reader is Susan Errickson of the In Death Series. She does so many voices that when spoken, you know who the character is….all done in one book! Assne Vigesaa is a fabulous reader. So clear and precise, is her narration. I love to read, but age has taken away much of my sight, so I rely on the readers to do the job for me. Most fill that spot, but there are so many who can ruin a book. They read as if they’re reading something distasteful. And, so it becomes just as distasteful to the listener. I hate spending money on a book (hurts the purse strings) that does not deliver. Readers definitely MAKE the book. I see books I think I’d enjoy, but if I see a reader who didn’t make the “”grade””, in my book, I have to pass. Have spent much money upgrading my book of non-readers.
Just spotted this posting, and wanted to comment. It’s a big bug bear, so couldn’t resist…smiles There are two commercial narrators for the Harry Potter series, depending, essentially, on whether you obtain a US or UK published version. Basically Jim Dale reads in the US, and Stephen Fry reads in the UK. Jim Dale has won some recognition, and awards, for his recording, and I have to say, it’s nothing short of appalling. I feel sorry for anyone having been subjected to his interpretation of the characters, as they are just wrong. In addition to this, he reads the book as if he’s late for an appointment or something, coupled with an extremely annoying repetitive pattern to his reading pitch. Stephen Fry on the other hand, is J K Rowling’s personal favourite reader, and does a spellbinding job. Every character is carefully voiced, and is read with plenty of variety to his pitch. I guess when it comes down to it, when you have an actor who’s roles include Oscar Wilde, and many other great roles, compared to someone who’s claim to fame are the ‘Carry on…’ movies, you can understand why Stephen Fry is in a different league…Sorry you guys across the pond in Americaland, you got the short straw!
Other favourite readers: The reader of the first two books in the ‘Sword of Truth’ series by Terry Goodkind (not even the publisher could agree on the reader’s name) Michael Beck, reader of several Grisham and Harlan Coben books. Jeff Hardng, reader of the Lincoln Rhyme series by Jeffery Deaver (Jeff is Lincoln!), and Clipper Audio’s version of The Da Vinci Code, where Jeff does an amazing job with French, upper and lower class British, Scottish, Italian, and of course, Robert Langdon’s US accents. Simon Prebble’s version of Anthony Horowicz’s Power of Five/The Gatekeeper’s series (The reader reading the British version got on my nerves, and is a fine example of how the right reader can transform a book) Then there’s the absolutely first class job that Gerard Doyle did on Christopher Paolini’s Inheritence Cycle (Eragon)
I could go on and on, but I wlll finish by saying that a good example of where a major publisher has completely got it wrong in their choice of reader, and it’s just about one of the biggest selling audiobooks of all time…Paul Michael reading Random House’s version of The Da Vinci Code…completely uninspired and extremely dour.
Please could publishers keep the same reader throughout the series…please…and please please can we have readers that can bring life to a book…in other words…be good at acting, and characterisation.
Here’s a great website for listing just about every author, and everything they’ve ever done, in the correct series order: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk
Stephen Fry from the UK narrating all 7 of the Harry Potter books is absolutely fantastic. Jim Dale who does the American version is not in the same league as Fry. David Sedaris narrating every one of his own books is fantastic. Sissy Spacek narrating TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is superb. Cambell Scott narrates many books and does a wonderful job too. My favorite of his is THE ABSTINENCE TEACHER (by tom perotta) but I would give anything he narrates a try. I have listened to a few Georgette Heyer books and the guy who does the UNKNOWN AJAX is great (hilarious in fact) but I can’t remember his name. Ron Silver does a great job narrating Philip Roth’s books but was dropped because of his far right wing politics. This is a shame as he was the perfect reader of Roth. I’ve never been able to make it through Roth’s books prior to Silver’s reading them. carol
I love audiobooks. Would not know what to do without them. Like Barbara, I listen to the books while doing almost anything, especially chores. It takes my mind of tedious tasks.
I have been a member of audible.com for many years and have a library of over 350 books. I find myself counting the days to the 23rd of each month when my book credits are earned and I get to download 2 new books. Sometimes, I read a book, really like it, and I purchase the listen so I can revisit the whole book over and over again and still get other things done. Other times, I listen to a book, really like it and have to purchase a hard copy so that I can revisit all my favorite parts without having to fast forward or backwards to get to them.
Does the narrator make the book? Yes. A good book is certainly damaged by a bad narration. Before I purchase an audiobook, I check out both the writer and the narrator. A bad review on either one makes me think twice.
Aside from Anna Fields, Barbara Rosenblat, George Guidall, Susan Erickson, Kate Reading, and Gabra Zackman, a few other of my favorite narrators are:
Cornelius Garrett – Georgette Heyer books
Davina Porter – M C Beaton books (Hamish Macbeth) and Diana Gabaldon (Outlander)
Tim Curry – Garth Nix books
Simon Vance – Naomi Novik books
Jonathan Hogan – Ivan Doig (The Whistling Season)
Lloyd James – Lois McMaster Bujold (The Curse of Chalion)
Michael Drew – Georgette Heyer books
Richard Ferrone – Christine Feehan books
Anne Flosnik – Elizabeth Lowell books
Simon Prebble – Julia Quinn books
Then there are the full cast performances for Frank Herbert’s Dune and Phillip Pullman’s The Golden Compass, which were both outstanding.
My pet peeve? Changing narrators in the middle of a series of books. The main reason I stay with a series is because I find both the books and their performance entertaining and satisfying. So when the narrator changes, it can be unsettling and even irritating. By the time this happens, I am so hooked on the story line that I just have to finish the series, but I feel cheated somehow.
A good example of this would be Kevin J. Anderson’s Saga of the Seven Suns, a series of 7 books. The first 3 books are performed by George Guidall and are excellent. The next 4 are read by David Colacci, who’s okay I guess, but not of the same caliber as George Guidall. What irritates me the most is the change in the pronunciation of the characters’ names. Couldn’t David have listened to George to get it right? Seems like a small thing, but these characters are my friends now and I am still rankled by it.
Thanks for all the responses. I’ll take notes so I know what to check out next time. :)
I had a flashback to this while driving home from work last night. I was listening to an NCIS book on audio. I should’ve stuck to YA. ;) The reader was good with accents, but… At one point, he is doing the voice of an older, respectable woman whose child was murdered many years before. It was so breathy that I thought right away of drag queens. The tension was lost. :)
Oh, the narrator matters! My number one pet peeve is a male reader who “”does”” females in a simpering, breathy voice. It’s a total deal breaker for me and I’ll never again listen to anything else by that narrator. I’m talking to you, Dick Hill, but you’re not the only one. Do the women in your life really sound like drag queens?!?! My favorite male narrators are Victor Slezak for Sandra Brown, Dennis Boutsikeris for Brown and Linda Howard, and James Daniels in Chesapeake Blue.
I love couple narrators when it’s done right. Best are James Daniels and Aasne Vigesaa (really married to each other I think) on Smoke and Mirrors, Joyce Bean and Dick Hill (the same Dick Hill who is great when he sticks to his own gender) on Kiss Me While I Sleep. Don’t care for the male/female combo on some of the Brockmann’s.
I like Susan Erickson on JD Robb, Gabra Zackman on Ice Blue, Alyssa Bresnahan on Darkling I Listen, Natalie Ross on Up Close and Dangerous. William Hurt on Hearts in
Atlantis is wonderful. And I LOVE Johanna Parker on the Sookie books.
What are your other pet peeves, you ask? Well, okay, I cringe at creepy, overdone vampire readings. I’ve laughed out loud (when I don’t think that was the author or reader’s intent) at Karen Marie Moning, Gena Showalter, Maggie Shayne, Christine Feehan when their vamps are given the uber scary melodramatic treatment. Just finished listening to Lover Enshrined and I wished for a little bit more drama from the reader. Not that I’m hard to please or anything.
Anne, we talked about The Surgeon and The Apprentice by Tess Gerritson. Both are very good in audio.
Don’t know her name but the woman who does the Stephanie Plum series is pretty awesome.
And I thought the Thirteenth Tale was wonderfully narrated. It had 2 separate narrators.
The Blind Assassin is another top notch job. It is a book that I would not have finished if I had to read it, but I listened all the way through, sucked in by the narration.
And Bridget Jones’s Diary is hilariously read–you skip over all the ciggie and calory counts when reading, but listening to them is awfully fun.
Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing. Excellent.
On the not so good side, I totally didn’t get the narrator for the Harry Potter books. I tried to listen to book 1 after having read and enjoyed it, and I thought the narrator was just wrong.
And then there was an early book by a big name romance author that was pretty darn lame. I swear the narrator sounded as if he were asking himself WTF all the while as he read.
I recently listened to a book read by the author, and wonder of wonders he did an excellent job. It was Damnation Street by Andrew Klavan. Klavan is a darn good reader. Too bad I can’t say the same for Lawrence Block. I tried to listen to him read one of his books and got thoroughly lost. He didn’t try to differentiate between the characters and since most of the book was dialogue, I didn’t know who was speaking.
Len Cariou reads many of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch books and he is superb!! Judy Kaye who reads Sue Grafton’s books is another one I very much like. But my very favorite is Jonathan Cecil who reads P.G. Wodehouse’s Bertie and Jeeves books. I have never heard anyone who could do many variations of upper class twit of the year characters.
I base my audio book selections on narrator. I’ve found that famous readers often do not do the best job. I couldn’t finish Flight by Sherman Alex read by Adam Beach or A People History of the United States by Howard Zim read by Matt Damon.
My favorite narrators are: Sandra Burr, Susan Ericksen, Joyce Bean, Stephen J Dubner, and Joanna Parker.
I listen to audiobooks constantly, in the car, while I’m exercising, while I cook and clean. Doing that makes me feel more productive, mult-tasking. To answer your question: yes, the narrator does make the book. I love Goerge Guidall, who read LJ Braun’s The Cat who… series and C.J. Critt’s narration of the Stephanie Plum books, which are ROFL funny. Both those narrators performed the books, rather than just read them. I cringe sometimes when I find out a long-awaited book is read by the author. Cold Mountain and the recent A Mercy come to mind. Writers should write, not read. Some other favorites are Kate Reading (P. Cornwell’s books), Susan Ericksen (J.D. Robb’s series), David Colacci, who reads Anne Perry and Simon Prebble, without whom I would not be able to get through any of Stephanie Lauren’s books.
The one narrator I remember most because I found it so unusual was Julia Roberts reading “”The Nanny Diaries””. She did a great job and I really enjoyed the book. I think the mark of a good audo book narrator is one who allows you to forget that you are listening to a book on CD, one who slides so well between the emotions conveyed and the different characters that you get caught up in the story altogether.
I listen to lots of audio books while driving. My two favorite narrators so far are the late Anna Fields, who did Susan Elizabeth Phillips books, and Barbara Rosenblatt, for Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody books. Rather than simply reading the books, these two narrators get into the character — and voice — of most of the characters in the books.
I recently listened to an audio version of one of my favorite books, Born in Fire by Nora Roberts. While the narrator is Irish — and the book is set in Ireland after all — he didn’t work for me. For some reason, having that book narrated by a male narrator just didn’t work. Another narration that didn’t work was the dual male/female narrators (can’t remember their names) for Jayne Ann Krentz’s All Night Long. I found switching back and forth between the two so disconcerting, that it completely took me out of the story.
I remember Anne Hathaway read the audio version of the first Princess Diaries book (Anne played Mia in hte movie). She’s much too big of a star now to be an audio book narrator, but having her voice and face in the movie, and her voice reading the book, really united the two. I haven’t listened to it since it was first released, but I remember her being a strong narrator.