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Multiple Narrators in One Book - How do you feel about it?
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Aaron
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Mar 26, 2013 03:05AM
How do you folks feel about multiple narrators in one book? I've listened to quite a few where there are two main protagonists, and where two narrators take turns with the chapters, such as in Linda Gardner's LOVE YOU MORE. It actually worked out well in that case. But I've also seen some where there are many voices used and it almost seems like it is too much. I like my narrator to tell me the story, I don't want to feel like I'm listening to a movie, for example. What do folks think about this?
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I love the radio plays of Agatha Christie's works.
Those sound intriguing, Carolyn. Are they on Audible and which version are they? I do believe I have some Poirot narrations in my queue, but I don't know if they are radio plays. ;o)
If i'm listening to something like Shakespeare/Tennesse Williams etc - I would expect a full cast recording - however, for normally books - I think 3-4 max - The Help has 4 - Miss Skeeter, Abilene, Minnie and then the 4th was just a tiny cameo in a catch-up section - it worked well
Dee wrote: "If i'm listening to something like Shakespeare/Tennesse Williams etc - I would expect a full cast recording - however, for normally books - I think 3-4 max - The Help has 4 - Miss Skeeter, Abilene,..."Thanks, Dee. I loved the movie The Help. I ought to order the audio book!
Aaron wrote: "Dee wrote: "If i'm listening to something like Shakespeare/Tennesse Williams etc - I would expect a full cast recording - however, for normally books - I think 3-4 max - The Help has 4 - Miss Skeet..."The audio book is far better than the movie, although the movie was good.
Gone Girl has a male and female narrator and it worked beyond beautifully.I listened to part of a Catherine Coulter novel that had both male and female narrators, with a female speaking all the spoken aloud parts and it was stupid and disconcerting. So multiple narrators depends on how it's done.
I've heard it done well and I've heard it done poorly. I loved the casts of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War & the Ender's Game series. Though in the case of World War Z the cast didn't really have to play off one another as each segment was it's own "interview".I feel like these are exceptions though. I partially feel like multiple narrators just increases the chances of getting a narrator that is sub-par or doesn't fit in with the rest.
I recently finished Existence and most of the narrators were fine, but there was one that did an atrocious Jamaican accent (or maybe they nailed it, since the other characters in the book describe it as an over the top Jamaican accent...annoying either way). I've heard that character described as the Jar Jar Binks of the book, if you catch the nerd reference. You cringe when the character begins speaking and don't stop until they do. It didn't really flow with the rest of the narration.
I like when it is specific characters narrated by each narrator like others have said The Help...Gone Girl...are just a couple really good ones that come to mind...However recently I listened to one where all male voices were by male narrator and all female voices done by female narrator and it was annoying especially if the female was only answering a question with yes and all of a sudden I was jarred out of the story by this intrusion into my enjoyment of the male narration.
The tenth anniversary of American Gods had a full cast and was definitely one of my favorite listens. I loved the many readers involved.
Here's a link where they have them. I haven't bought them from Audible but have the CDs/cassettes. http://nostalgic-radio.com/2010/01/07...
Thanks, everyone, for your great comments. Lots of good books to pursue here!
The multi-voice version of Dracula, with Tim Curry, Alan Cumming, Simon Vance, et.al., is stellar. AND - still available for free at Audible if you buy the Kindle book, which is also free. Go to the Audible site, find that version and link to the Kindle version.
I've only listened to one audiobook with multiple readers--Hyperion. The book follows the approach of The Canterbury Tales, in which various travelers tell their life stories. Each of the five travelers is read by a different reader--and it's delightful! (The story, though, is rather ghoulish.)
I have liked most multi-narrator books I've listened to, many of which have already been listed above. I'd also add The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Water for Elephants to the list. I've tried one or two "dramatized" books that were like the old radio dramas, I think (Babbit, The Grapes of Wrath), and I wasn't a fan. I prefer when the narrators stay in character for their portion of the story and don't switch back and forth and create dialogue. That's where I draw the line.
Did anyone mention The Help? And thanks, Kristie, for reminding me about The Guernsey Literary....
I quite liked the multiple narrators in Dune. Also, the multiple narrators in Robert Sawyer's WWW Trilogy worked quite well, aside from the mispronunciation of "Laurier". I've seen pronunciation problems in a number of books. I think the narrators really should check with the author for anything aside from basic names.In the WWW Trilogy, there is two different POV characters and each narrator takes the narration when from that POV.
Tim - I know how you feel about pronunciation. I had such a hard time when my first narrator recorded one of my mysteries set in Europe. Of course I had French, German, Austrian words and names throughout. Talk about edit after edit. And in the end it still wasn't exactly right. But we learn as we go, and I've learned a lot with my 13 audiobooks, LOL. Thanks for stopping by to comment. It's fascinating to understand the wide variety of listeners viewpoints out there! Have a great day.
With regards to multiple narrators, as with all audiobooks, it depends on the acting ability of the narrators. I thought the multiple voices in The Help and Gone Girlwere superbly done. I have been reading audiobooks for decades (I started with cassette tapes in my car!) and the quality of the narration has improved so much in that time. I wonder if it is due to more actors doing narration work, or the quality of the audio directors? Anyone have an opinion on this? Lastly, I think using multiple narrators is more successful when each, entire chapter flips between characters/narrators rather than when two narrators (usually of different genders) go back and forth throughout the book.
David wrote: "I've only listened to one audiobook with multiple readers--Hyperion. The book follows the approach of The Canterbury Tales, in which various travelers tell their life stories. Each of the five trav..."I didn't listen to the audio version, but I am a huge Dan Simmons fan, and while definitely goulish, I loved Hyperion and its sequels.
I came to say what David already said,lol.I have a version of Pratchett's Thief of Time, and the multiple narrators is rather annoying, and seems random.
David wrote: "I've only listened to one audiobook with multiple readers--Hyperion. The book follows the approach of The Canterbury Tales, in which various travelers tell their life stories. Each of the five trav..."Ghoulish? I have Hyperion on my TBR list, but I haven't got around to it. I think I'll put it further down the list. I've heard good things about the book in the past, but I've been told to avoid the sequel. I'm not too interested in reading a ghoulish book, though.
Tim wrote: "David wrote: "I've only listened to one audiobook with multiple readers--Hyperion. The book follows the approach of The Canterbury Tales, in which various travelers tell their life stories. Each of..."It's on my list as well. The sequel has a 4.12 rating with 24K reviews...can't be all bad.
The Historian
had two narrators, one as the daughter and one as the father, and I loved it. I had read a few reviews afterwards from people who read the text, and they had difficulty determining who was the speaker in each chapter. I had no difficulty with the audiobook version.I also really liked
with the two narrators.
Excellent point, Verena. Having distinct narrations for each character does take the guessing out of who's speaking, doesn't it? Thanks for weighing in on this.And thanks to all - good discussion!
Multiple narrators work better - simple. It's only the truly exceptional talents who can do multiple characters and after listening you couldn't imagine multiple narrators. A Flag For Sunrise narrated by the extraordinary Stephen Lang is one that comes to mind.
I´m fine with multiple narrators if it´s a book written in 2nd person. I prefer when every character is narrated by different narrator then. If it´s 1st person, I prefer one narrator. I think it´s more natural and that way I can concentrate on the story, since I know it´s one character that´s telling the story. I don´t think I could tell a story (when observing the world at the same time) in multiple voices.
CatBookMom wrote: "The multi-voice version of Dracula, with Tim Curry, Alan Cumming, Simon Vance, et.al., is stellar. AND - still available for free at Audible if you buy the Kindle book, which is also free. Go to t..."Mine isn't free :( Can you do a link to the book? Sometimes it will allow us to go the free link.
Lára wrote: "I´m fine with multiple narrators if it´s a book written in 2nd person. I prefer when every character is narrated by different narrator then. If it´s 1st person, I prefer one narrator. I think it´..."
Lara - I agree with you about the first person POV. That wouldn't work so well with multiple narrators.In the first book in my Moore Mysteries (HEALEY'S CAVE), I decided to go against the accepted literary "norm" and follow James Patterson by having multiple chapters with first person and a separate set of scenes told from the Killer's POV in third person. That was tricky, but my narrator did a pretty good job. ;o)
Carolyn F. wrote: "CatBookMom wrote: "The multi-voice version of Dracula, with Tim Curry, Alan Cumming, Simon Vance, et.al., is stellar. AND - still available for free at Audible if you buy the Kindle book, which is ..."CatBookMom - thanks for the tip about Dracula!
I've recently started listening to a land more kind than home. which is written with three different narrators. So, each narrator is read by a different person, and it works just fine for me. I do recommend this first novel by Wiley Cash. Very good!
Carolyn F. wrote: "CatBookMom wrote: "The multi-voice version of Dracula, with Tim Curry, Alan Cumming, Simon Vance, et.al., is stellar. AND - still available for free at Audible if you buy the Kindle book, which is ..."Kindle edition here http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0084B5TK8
Audible Edition here http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B0078P...
I did this by working backwards from the Audible edition, so I hope it works for you.
Bob wrote: "I've recently started listing to a land more kind than home. which is written with three different narrators. So, each narrator is read by a different person, and it works just fine for me. I do r..."Thanks, Bob. Will have to check out "a land more kind than home." Great title!
CatBookMom wrote: "Carolyn F. wrote: "CatBookMom wrote: "The multi-voice version of Dracula, with Tim Curry, Alan Cumming, Simon Vance, et.al., is stellar. AND - still available for free at Audible if you buy the Kin..."Thanks from all of us, Carolyn!
I welcome this evolution in audiobooks, some background music/dramaticazation is interesting as well
Tbird0123 wrote: "I welcome this evolution in audiobooks, some background music/dramaticazation is interesting as well"This is a whole different matter; I think there is a thread somewhere dealing with it. I've encountered some books with music/sound effects that were done well or added to the effect--"Beautiful Creatures", "Around the World in 80 Days" Anniversary edition read by Jim Dale--but I've encountered far more that don't know how to strike that balance. It's far better, imho, to leave off music/effects altogether and let the text speak for itself than to put in cheesy or gratuitous effects that ruin the book. And sound levels become important as being able to hear the words can be impaired by background music that is too loud. As I say, done well it's good, but done badly it's a disaster.
Jeanie wrote: "This is a whole different matter; I think there is a thread somewhere dealin..."I agree. I've only heard a couple of well done dramatizations, the rest were all over the place. I remember one in particular in which I couldn't pay attention to an outdoor conversation because there was some kind of bird chirping loudly in my ear.
The old school of narration held that one narrator interpreted all POVs within the story. You still see some books cast that way, e.g. The Secret Scripture (by Sebastian Barry; narrated by Wanda McCaddon.) There are two POVs in that book, one of an older Irish woman from Sligo and that of a male doctor from London. Wanda McCaddon did a spectacular job with the narration and got an Earphones Award for her work.
I actually prefer it when the POVs are represented by different narrators, e.g. A Land More Kind Than Home (by Wiley Cash; narrated by Nick Sullivan, Lorna Raver and, Mark Bramhall.)
However, I do not care for narrators who take on more than one POV in the same book as it creates too much confusion as to which character is really speaking in my mind.
And I definitely do not care for dialogue lines being cut with different narrators outside of an audio drama.
I absolutely deplore sound effects, voice enhancements and music in adult and non-audio drama fare. It pulls a listener out of the story every time. I loved Robert Petkoff's narration of Beat the Reaper (by Josh Bazell) but hated the elevator music, the echo effect when the characters were at the water reservoir, etc. In The Woods (by Harlan Coben; narrated by Scott Brick), one of the issues I had with the production was that whenever the characters were on the phone, the voice was enhanced to make it sound like they were on the phone. The sfx somehow cheapen the production, IMHO.
Audio Drama is a totally different head and there's a lot of different types/approaches to this specialty as well. Two excellent audio drama productions were Audie Award nominees last year: The Mark of Zorro (based on the book by Johnston McCulley; performed by a full cast starring Val Kilmer) which was a studio-produced performance in the radio tradition, adapted by the late Yuri Rasovski ; and the other was I, Claudius (based on the novel by Robert Graves; performed by a full cast starring Derek Jacobi as Augustus.) The latter was an actual radio (BBC4) production and won the Audie for the category :-)
I actually prefer it when the POVs are represented by different narrators, e.g. A Land More Kind Than Home (by Wiley Cash; narrated by Nick Sullivan, Lorna Raver and, Mark Bramhall.)
However, I do not care for narrators who take on more than one POV in the same book as it creates too much confusion as to which character is really speaking in my mind.
And I definitely do not care for dialogue lines being cut with different narrators outside of an audio drama.
I absolutely deplore sound effects, voice enhancements and music in adult and non-audio drama fare. It pulls a listener out of the story every time. I loved Robert Petkoff's narration of Beat the Reaper (by Josh Bazell) but hated the elevator music, the echo effect when the characters were at the water reservoir, etc. In The Woods (by Harlan Coben; narrated by Scott Brick), one of the issues I had with the production was that whenever the characters were on the phone, the voice was enhanced to make it sound like they were on the phone. The sfx somehow cheapen the production, IMHO.
Audio Drama is a totally different head and there's a lot of different types/approaches to this specialty as well. Two excellent audio drama productions were Audie Award nominees last year: The Mark of Zorro (based on the book by Johnston McCulley; performed by a full cast starring Val Kilmer) which was a studio-produced performance in the radio tradition, adapted by the late Yuri Rasovski ; and the other was I, Claudius (based on the novel by Robert Graves; performed by a full cast starring Derek Jacobi as Augustus.) The latter was an actual radio (BBC4) production and won the Audie for the category :-)
I agree with Tensy, the entire chapter switch structure is one of the reasons Gone Girl was so successfully narrated by two people. Another absolutely wonderful multiple narration was of Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races. I highly recommend it if you like that style of book. Tensy wrote: "I think using multiple narrators is more successful when each, entire chapter flips between characters/narrators rather than when two narrators (usually of different genders) go back and forth throughout the book. "
J. wrote: "Jeanie wrote: "This is a whole different matter; I think there is a thread somewhere dealin..."I agree. I've only heard a couple of well done dramatizations, the rest were all over the place. I r..."
LOL - J. I had the same experience recently with a James Patterson book, the 8th Confession. Good story and I would listen again, but in certain scenes they added sound effects that pulled me out of the story. (like honking horns and city sounds in chap 1!)
Tanya/dog eared copy wrote: "The old school of narration held that one narrator interpreted all POVs within the story. You still see some books cast that way, e.g. The Secret Scripture (by Sebastian Barry; narrated by Wanda Mc..."Well said, Tanya. You've also mentioned the Audies which we probably haven't discussed enough here. Does anyone know of a well established counterpart for Indie narrators/audio books? It appears the Audies are replete with well established, well funded productions (albeit GREAT productions of course!). For those of us who are on the fringes - and by that I mean we as writers win multiple literary awards, but we're newly breaking into the audio book world - I'd love to be able to submit some of my audio books and see how they fare. ;o)
By the way, I'm going to check out your recommendations. Thank you.
I'm listening to an outstanding narration and book right now - Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. This is my first listen to Angela Dawe - WOW! This woman is amazing. Her voices are so distinct, but what is a perfect match is the brilliant writing matched with a narrator who truly syncs with the writing in a way I've heard only with Simon Prebble in Dick Francis's books and George Kuch with my "Write Like the Wind" writing guides. Outstanding, highly recommend Still Missing for thriller lovers.;o)
I disagree, having multiple voices and sound effects is the natural progression for this genre. Granted in the beginning there are stumbling blocks and some very bad productions, but done well it can be highly entertaining and add a different level drama to a book. I welcome the transformation of audio books.
Philip Blake wrote: "The tenth anniversary of American Gods had a full cast and was definitely one of my favorite listens. I loved the many readers involved."You know, I'm about halfway through this one right now, and I have to say that, while the narration's probably well done, I don't love it. Maybe I'm an old dog learning new tricks, but all the narrator switching feels choppy to me. I think of an audiobook like Shantaram, where one amazing narrator pulled off all of these different characters and accents, and I was so much more impressed with that narration than I am with this "cast" of narrators.
I've listened to other books with >1 narrator that I have liked...The Help, Water for Elephants, Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. All of those books had the different characters' parts as separate chapters. American Gods is not set up that way. Having a main narrator provide narration, then get interrupted by other narrators jumping in for their line, followed by a "he said" by the main narrator, detracts from the overall narration IMHO. I just don't think the structure of the book lends itself as well to multiple narrators as others do. The narrators are doing their best with the situation, but it's not really enhancing my listening experience.
I was recently very impressed with Scott Sigler's narration of multiple characters, both male & female. He says he sometimes gets grief for his narration of female voices, but I thought he did well. It surprised me because he narrates his own work and I haven't encountered many authors that were also good narrators. I bought Infected from audible, but later found out you can get it and several other of his books for free from Itunes. It isn't for everyone. Infected was pretty violent and a bit gory.
Tanya/dog eared copy wrote: "The old school of narration held that one narrator interpreted all POVs within the story. You still see some books cast that way, e.g. The Secret Scripture (by Sebastian Barry; narrated by Wanda Mc...I absolutely deplore sound effects, voice enhancements and music in adult and non-audio drama fare. It pulls a listener out of the story every time. I loved Robert Petkoff's narration of Beat the Reaper (by Josh Bazell) but hated the elevator music, the echo effect when the characters were at the water reservoir, etc. In The Woods (by Harlan Coben; narrated by Scott Brick), one of the issues I had with the production was that whenever the characters were on the phone, the voice was enhanced to make it sound like they were on the phone. The sfx somehow cheapen the production, IMHO."
One place where we diverge in opinion is regarding vocal enhancements. I don't mind and sometimes very much appreciate when they make the voice sound as if it is on the phone or coming from a speaker, I've run into many books that this little effect adds to the experience or helps clarify the context tremendously. But additional effects that bring the book closer to a dramatization aren't as welcome.
As to whether sound effects are a part of the evolution of audiobooks, as mentioned above, I would advise caution to audiobook producers. Additional effects may please some but drive away more. The greatest purpose of the audiobook is to make an author's words audible. Anything that takes away from the written word becomes a barrier between the author and reader. As much as I like certain things in audio that others don't--multiple narrators, specific narrators for specific character voices, vocal enhancements to indicate phone calls or a cavernous space--I would rather forego all enhancements rather than lose what the author is saying by having sound barriers put between me and the text. Drammatizations appeal to some but not to all and I think a move toward further drammatization of all audiobooks would not be a desirable development.
Jeanie wrote: "Tanya/dog eared copy wrote: "The old school of narration held that one narrator interpreted all POVs within the story. You still see some books cast that way, e.g. The Secret Scripture (by Sebastia..."Here here! Well said, Jeanie. Add me to the list of people who would move away from audiobooks if they all become dramatizations. Some use of enhancements and multiple narrators in the right situations is fine, but once it starts sounding like they're trying to re-create an old-timey radio show, they've lost me.
I think it can work really well -- definitely The Help was a good example. And Cloud Atlas! Also, The Kitchen House.
I think it depends on the book. One of them has to be the main narrator, but I like having that radio show feel sometimes.
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