Howards End

Fantastic Narration in Delightful Story

If you are a true fan of E M Forster or the Merchant Ivory dramatizations of his works, or the most recent Starz mini series, this book is for you. With great subtlety and the pace that pre-1930 novels enjoyed, Forster fleshes his characters' worlds artfully. This is one of those literary works that brings alive so perfectly the period in which it was written in a way that is relatable. The Schlegel family is the new artistic rather radically minded siblings that are at the heart of the story. The Wilcoxes represent the old guard with whom they have chance acquaintance.
Steven Crossley's distinguished performance perfectly relates all points of view with multiple intonations, dialects, and pacing essential to the setting. I listened carefully to samples of other readings and his was by far superior. Even with feminine main characters, his narration supplies full nuance.
Recommended.

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A Tough, But Stately "Read" With Bad Narrator

Unfortunately, my first Forster book on Audible was a struggle to finish.

Henry Wilcox was my favorite character full of characters that, in my opinion, were not fleshed out enough in personality or given much to do. Henry at least had some nice words.

My favorite part was when Henry proposed to Margaret/Meg. Nicely paced with perfect pitch.

I think as nice as Crossley's voice sounds, his bad performance sunk this book for me. A book written by men with females as the main protagonists requires a male narrator who is excellent in creating different female voices. Crossley is worst than any narrator I have yet to hear on audible. All the female voices sound the same. With so many back and forth conversations between Margaret and Ellen without personal identification of who is speaking, the narrator needs to make voices distinctive since I dont have the book in front of me to know which character is speaking. Consequently, things got confusing thus making this talk-driven story hard to follow thus trying my patience and interest.

I would highly recommend another version of this classic book. I am getting my money back for this one.

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Good story. Poor production.

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

Top half.

Any additional comments?

The reader has a tendency to trail off at the end of a sentence. I had to raise the volume on many occasions to understand what he was saying. I thought maybe my earphones were going but I am listening to another book now and it is fine. It is a good novel. I recommend another recording. Audible has several.

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Problems with volume

Volume is too varied either too loud or too soft; disturbing to what would be otherwise a totally enjoyable audio book.

I am sure I will be listening to it again!

Have seen two film versions and finally listened to it! It is now one of my favorite novels. I understand so much more than when exposed to the Emma Thompson Anthony Hopkins film version when I was young. Brilliant writer and lively narrator. Also, the newest mini series film version lovely to as the mini series format allows for these compression of the story.

Masterful Narrator!

The narrator was masterful and most enjoyable to listen to. He conveyed each voice, male or female, perfectly. The story itself is a bit convoluted but I had just watched the HBO series so I was able to follow it and flesh out the story as was my wont. It was great being able to picture each person because of the HBO series. Now I would like to watch movie, too. Very enjoyable with lot of flashes of humor with the human condition with its foibles and insecurities. I recommend it.

Good reading

Poor book . Really disappointed in the story . The characters are superficial and uncaring toward other

Not One of My Top 10, But a Good Read

I started this book because it was our book club’s choice. At first, I was underwhelmed and it reminded me of high school homework required reading. I was trudging through it. Although the language is not nearly as old or different as Pride and Prejudice, it still felt old. I’m not sure Steven C. wasn’t part of the problem. He definitely has talent, but not for this many female characters. I’d decided not to read it. A book club shouldn’t be torture. Then I watched the mini-series, and started up again. Our whole group watched the movie because no one, except the person that chose it was in love with the story. After watching both of those, I cared a bit more for the characters and decided to finish it. His reading of the first Mrs. Wilcox made her sound completely foolish and I didn’t think of her character that way. He didn’t portray Margaret much better. Then again, I think it was too many female characters for a man to read. The only reason I didn’t choose the female narrator was that one review stated it wasn’t truly unabridged. The story was fine, but didn’t grab me. I did like knowing more about Leonard Bast’s life after the sordid love affair. Neither the mini series or the movie addressed that, except at the very end. It’s worth reading, so I gave 4 stars, but I could only give the performance 3.

I love this book

This is a timeless book ,could have been written about life today. It is rather sad, but life hasn't changed all that much. Many people who are wealthy feel it is their right to gain more wealth at the expense of other.

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Maybe life is predetermined.

It was rough starting, but the sisters won me over in the end. Loved it.

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