Fine Book, Awful Narrator

Would you listen to Crime and Punishment [Trout Lake Media Edition] again? Why?

No. The book was fine. It is over 100 years old and shows some wear, but is an interesting look into the past. My real issue is that the narrator is just so bad. Let me explain. He has a fine voice for audible. But he emphasizes words and syllables in the middle of sentences and pauses in the middle of sentences for no reason, that the sentence loses its meaning or causes confusion. He doesn't just do it on occasion, it is throughout the entire book. It made listening to his version of this book so unenjoyably that I will never listen to a book with this narrator again.

What didn’t you like about Alan Munro’s performance?

Terrible. Why pause in the middle of sentences for no reason? Why the emphasis on words or syllables in the middle of sentences? How did this get past the producer?

Any additional comments?

I'm very surprised as the production quality of this book seems well done that the performance by the reader was so bad.

16 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Could they have found a worse narrator?

What did you like best about this story?

I think I liked the story. It's hard to know for sure because trying to follow the narrator was impossible.

Would you be willing to try another one of Alan Munro’s performances?

I don't think so, no.

Any additional comments?

I have to listen to this in short increments to offset the rage that fills me trying to follow this narrator. It's like he was narrating a Russian translation in English but had just starting learning the Russian language very recently. Pausing mid sentence (mid word even), then no inflection, then constant inflection, then the same bad Russian accent for 3 different characters. Sometimes it's so confusing it's like he is choosing randoms sentences to read. I find myself rewinding after five minutes because I have no idea what just happened.

5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Awful

It was such a struggle to get thru this. A challenge! I still don't even understand a point that was made in the whole 25 hours of it.

3 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Munro's reading is horrid.

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

This is a fantastic book. It is one of my absolutely favorites. I really looked forward to the audio version and spent some time comparing the different performances available. I finally settled on Munro's reading and it was a huge mistake. So much so that I could not get beyond the first chapter.

What didn’t you like about Alan Munro’s performance?

The reading is choppy. It does not come across as such in the little snippet that is given in the trial, but Munro reads each sentence with a pause in-between. Just dreadful. Mechanical. No feeling of the material at all.

3 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Aweful

I found nothing enjoyable about this book. Trust me and find something else to listen to.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Classic

Just a great literature classic, way longer than I expected, but worth every second of it.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

The reader is just awful!

Was the reader having a stroke the whole time? I’m currently on chapter 4 and it has been torture having to get through this. Nonetheless, I’m getting my money’s...I hope. The story is good, but dear god the reader is terrible. Step it up Alan Munro!

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

Horrible Narrator

I thought this book was boring, but it was just the narrator. I took a chance on a different narrator and found it MUCH more enjoyable.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

Price-worthy and quality performance of a classic

I was initially put-off from purchasing this version, given the critical reviews of the narrator’s performance. Contrary to what others wrote, I did not find the narrator’s pauses mid-sentence to be irritating, rather I found he used these pauses to add depth to the text.
I found this version to be more griping compared to other renditions of Dostoevsky classics, for example Naxos, which is far more expensive.
Bottom line, is if you’re looking for a cheaper option to enjoy a classic, I highly recommend this option.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

A Classic

This was my second reading of this classic and still love it! But it is wordie!!