I’m usually so busy with writing reviews for ARCs that my
audiobooks come off as the poor second cousins and often don’t make it onto my
blog. This is a shame, since I often pick the books that are on top of my
really-really-must-read list to keep me company during the long hours I spend
driving. So I thought: why not write a quick monthly recap of the audiobooks I
have been enjoying?
These were my commute-companions during March and April:
A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman
Narrated by Joan Walker
What an utterly delightful read! I am very grateful for
having stumbled across Shelleyrae’s review of this book on her blog “Book’dOut”, which initially made me put it on my to-read-list. My only regret is not
having picked it up a lot sooner! A Man Called Ove is easiest one of the best
books I have read all year, and one that will definitely make it on my
all-time-favourites list. Told with both humour and wisdom, it follows the
story of a 59-year-old Swedish man called Ove, who has recently lost his wife and
his job and decided that life is no longer worth living. Always considered a
somewhat taciturn and grumpy old man by his neighbours, Ove is sure he won’t be
missed by anyone, and makes his plans for a clean exit from this life. But one
by one all his plans are foiled by the arrival of new neighbours next door - a
pregnant “foreign woman”, her tall lanky husband and their two little girls,
who will not accept that Ove wants to be left alone.
Written with
laugh-out-loud humour as well as tender insights into his characters’ lives, Backman
instantly drew me into the storyline and made my daily commute richer as I
laughed, cried and pondered the meaning of life, love and death with Ove. Very
highly recommended. I absolutely adored it!
PS: whilst Joan Walker does a good job narrating, I would
have preferred a male narrator, seeing that Ove is our central character and
the story is told from his perspective.
The Bird Tribunal, by Agnes Ravatn
Narrated by Penelope Rawlins
With her life in ruins after a scandal that wrecked her
marriage and cost her her job, historian and TV presenter Allis Hagtorn leaves
it all behind and takes on the position as housekeeper for 44-year-old Sigurd
Bagge, a mysterious reclusive man living in a small cottage in the rugged
Norwegian countryside. Far from town and without transport except a bicycle at
her disposal, Allis throws herself into the housekeeping and gardening chores
expected of her whilst Bagge’s wife is away. But when time goes by and the
woman fails to materialise, Allis slowly falls more and more under her
employer’s spell, trying to appease his labile moods. What follows is an
account of a dysfunctional and somewhat obsessive love affair, its
claustrophobic atmosphere enhanced by the remote setting and a sense of menace
and danger always hovering in the background. What really happened to Bagge’s
wife?
The Bird Tribunal is a slow-burning mystery with very little
action and only two central characters to drive the story, which worked well in
some parts but dragged a bit in others. Whilst I enjoyed the tension underlying
the story and really liked Allis as a character, I found that the strange
“dance” between the two main
protagonists became a bit repetitive, and I longed for a bit more action or a
twist to move things along. However, I loved the claustrophobic and atmospheric
armchair-travel setting, and the mystical component of Norse mythology
interspersing the story. I am definitely interested to read more from this
author in future.
In Her Wake, by Amanda Jennings
Narrated by Kate Rawson
After losing both her parents in quick succession, Bella
Campbell’s life is further turned upside down when she reads a letter left to
her by her father, which tells her that she is not Henry and Elaine Campbell’s
biological daughter, but that her “real” family lives in Cornwall. Having grown
up cloistered in an old vicarage, home-schooled and without any family and friends
other than her parents, Bella has never had the opportunity to truly grow up.
Instead, she married a much older man who took over from her mother,
controlling everything Bella does, from the food she eats to the clothes she
wears. Now that all she has ever believed to be the truth has gone up in smoke,
Bella must rise out of the ashes and set off on her own to discover her true
origins – and ultimately discover herself.
In Her Wake had an intriguing premise, which soon drew me
into the storyline. However, this is NOT a psychological thriller. Whilst there
is an element of mystery in the story, the reader finds out the truth very
early on, and what follows is a slow-burning family drama of family members
re-united after years apart, and the struggles they face in getting to know one
another and overcoming the trauma of the past. The setting on the Cornish coast
was atmospheric and added a wonderful armchair-travel element that brought the
story to life for me, and I enjoyed the emotional turmoil Bella finds herself
in and her journey of self-discovery. However, at times I found the story a bit
slow and repetitive and thought it needed a bit of editing to move things along
(especially Bella’s “dreams”, which really added nothing to the story for me).
I found myself waiting for bit more action or an element of surprise to spice
things up, which did not eventuate.
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