SOD

Fascinating and difficult to follow.

Reviewed: 01-27-24

I liked the story, and at the same time, it was difficult to follow. The names of characters were all unfamiliar and difficult to keep straight. This was further complicated by the narrator’s fairly strong accent. I would buy a kindle copy if it was available, and think it would help. A PDF of characters and relationships would have helped too. At this point, I’m worn out by trying to track what’s going on and suspending my listen.

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3 people found this helpful

Okay but..

Reviewed: 11-15-23

I was ready for it to be over before it was. Narrator was neither bad nor good. Same for the story.

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Miss match

Reviewed: 09-10-20

My first audiobook listen was a Cormac McCarthy book. I was hooked on listening to recorded books by that experience. Sadly the narration for this one is poorly suited to the book. I don't even want to finish listening. When a book is set in the Southwest and Mexico, I would hope the narrator would take the trouble to learn how to pronounce the commonly used local terms. I know the book itself is not boring but the listen was spoiled by the narrator's apparent lack of interest in the characters or story.

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Dismal drivel

Reviewed: 02-17-17

This book over simplifies and has little of value to say about spousal abuse. The characters are barely two dimensional.

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1 person found this helpful

Horrible book

Reviewed: 01-31-16

Would you try another book from Hanya Yanagihara and/or Oliver Wyman?
Never

What was most disappointing about Hanya Yanagihara’s story?
The lack of anything inspiring or transformative. The main character was not sympathetic; just a self-involved person who holds those close to him hostage to his “pain” and manipulation. An endless tale of self-defeating behavior and distorted beliefs. I found the "good" friends contrived and inauthentic.

What didn’t you like about Oliver Wyman’s performance?
The whining, cringing, pleading narration. For goodness sake if you are going to read some Spanish learn to pronounce it properly!

What character would you cut from A Little Life?
None were believable. Nothing inspiring frm any.

Any additional comments?
Insulting to legitimate survivors of childhood abuse.

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It is CAValry! NOT Calvary.

Reviewed: 10-19-13

What did you like best about Killing Lincoln? What did you like least?

For Pete's sake! It is CAValry. Calvary is where Jesus was crucified. Two plus hours of mispronunciation. So distracting to anyone who knows the difference. How on earth did this get released? Didn't anyone on the production team bother to proof-listen? This isn't the only mispronunciation, but it's endless repitition is the most grating. Come on now; if reading military history please use appropriate vocabulary.

Would you be willing to try another one of Bill O'Reilly’s performances?

NO!

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Worried about your employer? Read this.

Reviewed: 07-18-10

As member of a professional staff, I wonder at how our corporate leadership cannibalizes their most successful and productive business in order to finance a manic rate of growth. We, successful and highly profitable for decades before our purchase and designation as "the flagship" of this corporation, paid the bills for numerous ill-considered ventures. Sadly, when our healthy cash-flow was insufficient to cover so many poor risks, carnage ensued.

Executives outside of our operation dictated layoffs and eliminated key positions. Some responsibilities went unanswered, and others transferred to already over-utilized staff members. When a survey revealed long-term customers' perception (awareness) of the decline in value and service, corporate leaders reacted, cutting more positions and adding more to the load of struggling employees! As organizational memory of extraordinary performance fades, new leadership's acceptance of mediocre as "good enough" is the new norm. In a speech to a hard-working, cash-producing staff from whom leadership has taken many benefits and withheld annual raises or bonuses during years of of healthy earnings, a corporate executive had the audacity to tell a little story about a problem with his wife's new Cadillac! Clearly there's no concern about how the money is earned as long as it keeps coming in. Almost all of our strong leaders have quit or been fired for refusing to dilute quality to enhance bottom line. Executives are insulated from truth now, "they don't want to hear it anyway."

The original "charge a premium price and then exceed expectations" remains sound, but "discount our price, reduce customary value, and stack the bill with ancillary service charges" prevails. The "exceed expectations" culture is taking root elsewhere, nurtured by our exiled leaders. We know how it's done, why go down with these vultures?

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8 people found this helpful