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sammystarbuck 's review for:
Our Mutual Friend
by Charles Dickens
Well... I seem to have landed myself with a dilemma. I am no longer certain what my favourite Dickens novel is!
For some time now, it has been [b:David Copperfield|58696|David Copperfield|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461452762l/58696._SY75_.jpg|4711940], and I had given up on finding one that would beat it, running short on unread Dickens as I was. But along came [b:Our Mutual Friend|31244|Our Mutual Friend|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403189244l/31244._SY75_.jpg|2888469], and now I'm not so certain any more. I've tried very hard to detach DC from the excellent narration by Richard Armitage, which is how I last experienced it, which I admit is easier said than done. But even still, OMF is a very richly woven story, with so many fun characters and descriptions, and which made me chuckle on a regular basis. but then the exact same can be said for DC. I think with its single POV, DC may have the slightly stronger narrative, but it's close. Maybe too close to call.
I listened to the audio version of OMF read by Meera Syal. Normally I would shy away from long audio books narrated by women, not because I have anything against books narrated by women per se, but simply because I get migraines often, and most women's voices are a touch too high-pitched, or with just the wrong timbre that can set a migraine off if I listen to them for very long through my headphones. But Meera Syal has a beautiful, beautiful voice, with which I had no problems at all. She also did a very fine job of the narration itself and the various voices. As a narrator she's definitely got a thumbs up from me! She won't displace Mr. Armitage as my favourite, but I guess he can't narrate all the books, more's the pity.
And I still don't know which of the two novels I prefer... I guess I will have to sleep on it, and see how I feel after this one has percolated a while.
For some time now, it has been [b:David Copperfield|58696|David Copperfield|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461452762l/58696._SY75_.jpg|4711940], and I had given up on finding one that would beat it, running short on unread Dickens as I was. But along came [b:Our Mutual Friend|31244|Our Mutual Friend|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403189244l/31244._SY75_.jpg|2888469], and now I'm not so certain any more. I've tried very hard to detach DC from the excellent narration by Richard Armitage, which is how I last experienced it, which I admit is easier said than done. But even still, OMF is a very richly woven story, with so many fun characters and descriptions, and which made me chuckle on a regular basis. but then the exact same can be said for DC. I think with its single POV, DC may have the slightly stronger narrative, but it's close. Maybe too close to call.
I listened to the audio version of OMF read by Meera Syal. Normally I would shy away from long audio books narrated by women, not because I have anything against books narrated by women per se, but simply because I get migraines often, and most women's voices are a touch too high-pitched, or with just the wrong timbre that can set a migraine off if I listen to them for very long through my headphones. But Meera Syal has a beautiful, beautiful voice, with which I had no problems at all. She also did a very fine job of the narration itself and the various voices. As a narrator she's definitely got a thumbs up from me! She won't displace Mr. Armitage as my favourite, but I guess he can't narrate all the books, more's the pity.
And I still don't know which of the two novels I prefer... I guess I will have to sleep on it, and see how I feel after this one has percolated a while.