I guess you could call me an audio book speed listener because since my last reviews on 7/9 of two audio books, I’ve finished two more. That said, neither was more than 10 CDs.
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett unabridged in 41 hours long. Abridged is 10 hours. If you can handle the whole one, good for you. But for some of us, it’s just too frickin’ much about cathedrals. Also, let’s be honest, Follett’s writing is for the mass market. It’s pretty fluffy but I like that it spans so many years and you do get an interesting story out of it, albeit one filled with cliches. The nice thing about the abridged version is because it’s so short things move pretty quickly. I tend to distrust abridged versions, for example I loved Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay on audio book until I found out it was abridged. My friend who was reading the book was like “something, something his brother.” And that’s how I learned it was abridged because you hear about the guy’s brother once and then he totally disappears. It’s like when they make a movie and leave out characters entirely (yes, I’m talkin’ ’bout you Harry Potter). She says I didn’t miss much but who knows?? I have a good feeling with Pillars I in fact did not miss much. Or rather I missed a ton but I don’t feel the lack of it.
For me, the main distinction of Pillars abridged was that it was read by Richard E. Grant, of Withnail and I fame. I like him and despite the fluff, enjoyed this audio book.
Now since I’m at the end of the my lunch break, I’ll be a good girl and review Savvy by Ingrid Law later.
