I'd give it 10 stars if I could

Where does Hild rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Probably the best.

What other book might you compare Hild to and why?

It's been described as "Game of Thrones without the dragons" and that's fairly accurate. But the writing is just beautiful, and the women are richly realized.

What does Pearl Hewitt bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She's got a gorgeous voice, and does a great job with choosing various contemporary UK or Ireland accents for the characters. I particularly enjoyed her performance of the narrator's ditzy friend Begu. She also reads like she admires and enjoys the prose, which is indeed worthy of it.

Any additional comments?

There's no supernatural elements in this book, just people who believe in the supernatural (Christ included), so if you're expecting a fantasy book, bear that in mind. Also, there's a lot of dynastic politics and geopolitical maneuvering, which can sometimes be hard to follow in audio format as one tries to keep track of names and places. Griffith's website has lots of resources, including maps and a family tree. The book felt real and vivid, totally immersing me in its world. What a place to visit!

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20 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Not the Best Audio Book

If you could sum up Hild in three words, what would they be?

Excellent historical novel.

What did you like best about this story?

Insight into how a "see-er" unraveled the patterns of the times.

Any additional comments?

Because of all the unfamiliar names, places and terminology, Hild was not the best candidate for an audio book. I wanted to see a reference map for 7th century Great Britain so I could understand where the various kingdoms were. I needed a glossary for all the unusual terms, and a genealogy chart would have been helpful, too. I wanted to page back to look at names, and couldn't do it. The story was lovely, engaging, well written and well read - but I think I would have enjoyed an e-book or hard cover edition of Hild much more than an audio rendition.

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20 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Get the Kindle version too.

This factionalized biography of a 7th century Anglo-Saxon girl who eventually became one of the most powerful and influential women in early Christian England, Hilda of Whitby, is difficult reading without the map, glossary and pronunciation guide in the Kindle version. Together, the book was wonderful. The author captures the natural world as well as the customs and material culture of that remote time. Highly recommended and worth the time.

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7 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Brings WHAT to life?

I spent much of my working life teaching Anglo-Saxon literature and history, and I was really looking forward to this novel. However, as many have mentioned, there's too much detail that hampers the story line. Even with my background, I had difficulty following, and I know those details that are factual--but many are fictional. Of course, we have little concrete data from the period, so much would need to be invented. Better editorial counsel might have helped the author select those details that were essential to the story line so that the plethora of trivia could be dispensed with. I can't imagine how (or why) a reader unfamiliar with the period would slog through all of this. Perhaps the novel is easier going if it is read rather than heard, but I doubt I would ante up for it, even at Kindle rates. Perhaps on Kindle Unlimited.

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Dreadful!

What would have made Hild better?

There is no hope

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Sleep

Any additional comments?

I usually love historical fiction but this book knocked me out faster than a sleeping pill.

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The correct title: St. Hilda of Whitby

This book starts out well. I did not mind the confusing names and magical realism. Although loosely based on early British history, I considered this a world-building fantasy novel featuring a precocious and engaging child who will grow into a powerful woman. The prose is almost poetry, magical and alliterative and kept me engaged and rather spell bound UNTIL I realized it was about the life of a Christian saint in early Britain. So I listened to about 1/3 of the book before deciding not to continue.

There is little in the first third to reveal where the book is ultimately headed and certainly nothing in the description provided by Audible to clue me in. But there were little warning signs. I decided to hope that the pagan tradition of Ireland and Britain, which gave women a great deal of power and sexual freedom, would be the main religious theme. This would have been so much more interesting with an alternate reality theme. I was misled. The book should have been titled St. Hilda of Whitby. Then I would have known not to invest any of my time in it.

The author, Nicola Griffith, is a self-identified feminist, as am I. I agree that she has created a strong and powerful character in Hild. But for such a person to aid in building an organization which has suppressed women since its founding, burned them at the stake, refused to allow them full and equal status in its institutional structures, and undertakes to refuse the human rights of women throughout the world is disappointing and left me feeling betrayed, both by the main character and the author. Although Hild helps to turn the people of Britain into Christians, I would feel equally displeased if she were converting them to any of the other two major Abrahamic religions: Judaism (the original) and Islam. All 3 currently deny full human rights to women. The pretext is somehow that Hild wants to teach people to read and supposedly only Christianity provides a way to this knowledge. In reality the Romans were literate millennia before they lost their empire which crumbled more from within than from without as sadly it appears we in the west are doing now, perhaps in part because of their adoption of Christianity. The best roads in Britain were built by Romans, as were water works and public buildings. These lasted for centuries after the Romans decided that Britain was not worth the effort and left.

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VERY hard to understand Pearl Hewitt

I want to like this book, I am ready to like it--in fact, I'm sure I still will--I just need to get a physical copy and read it. I don't think it works for Audible.

I have tried to listen to this book 3 or 4 times and haven't been able to get into it, simply because I can't understand half of what the performer reading the book is saying. The pronunciations are already complicated, and then you add to that she is doing (5 or 6) accents combined with a million characters coming and going, and I just found the whole thing darn near incomprehensible.

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Quite possibly the most boring book ever

Endless lists of towns and names with small crumbs of interactions.... I simply couldn’t take it any more and quit 3/4 into the book. Life is too short and millions of books to choose from.

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Too many characters for this listening option

I think the story may be an interesting one but with so many characters, it was just too hard to keep track of everyone.

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Beautifully rendered biography of an Anglo Saxon princess

This book is a very ornate and intimate exploration of the daily live of an Anglo Saxon princess. It is very well researched and is full of finely rendered details. It contains lots of intrigue from a female perspective. The main character, Hild is complex and surprising, often straddling the worlds of men and women of their time, and fighting for autonomy in the age of burgeoning Christianity.
While there is excitement: harrowing battles, titilating romance; the story is not what I would call a thrilling adventure. This book is more of a slow burn. I have to admit that I got lost in all of the names of individuals, cities, kingdoms, and peoples, which are listed frequently. Also, if you aren't paying attention, you can easily miss the passage of time or the transition between scenes.
Over all, the book is like getting lost in a finely woven tapestry. Beautiful, rich with detail, episodic, but maybe a little monotonous. Pearl Hewitt's performance is masterfully done with distinct characters, and her voice is so charming that you always want to hear more.

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3 personnes ont trouvé cela utile