Love it or Leave it, What to do when you can't stand the Narrator

[Natalie]

I don't think any of them are computer generated; but I too have had to wonder. The guy who does P N Elrod's book Blood list sounds suspiciously computerized in all but one character's voice. It's really uncanny.

[Audiothing]

Maybe some people just talk funny, Natalie!

[Kimberly]

Kristie wrote: "I've never been too bothered by a narrator to quit a book (probably because I listen at a faster playback speed these days), but I will say that I came close to quitting while listening to David Ca..."

I do the same... speed up the play. Fortunately, I haven't had many experiences with bad narrators (maybe 1 out of 10 books). On the flip side, there have been such enjoyable narrators that I have looked into other books they have been a part of and listen to those.

[Kimberly]

Jesslyn wrote: "I have been lucky in that I've only (so far) come across one narrator I couldn't take. Most of the ones that I have had so far have been fine, with the exception of one or two that literally swept..."

I do thoroughly enjoy narrators with the "right" accent, especially since I do not read with the right accent unless the author "respells" words to incorporate the accent.

[Judy]

Sometimes I speed them up in order to get through the book quickly. Sometimes I just listen. Sometimes I just put the book in my DNF file. That rarely happens. I am presently listening to Stoner read by Robin Field. I don't think I'll ever listen to this narrator again but the books is supposed to be a classic so I keep plugging in my earbuds.

[Kerry]

I listened to a version of Dombey and Son (which won an Audie that year, to my amazement) in which the narrator -- a gruff man -- apparently used something to alter the pitch of his voice when he did the voices of female characters. It was VERY distracting, and I couldn't finish it.

[Goo]

If I really don't like a narrator's voice or performance I eventually stop listening and buy the ebook eventually, assuming I remember. When I'm going to listen to something for several hours it has to be something I can tolerate.

There've been a few times when I listened to a sample and thought the audiobook would be fine but stopped listening after a few hours as I just couldn't get into the book.

[Tim]

Suffer through it.

[Mari]

I've only abandoned one... Under the Tuscan Sun. I was unable to listen due to the narrator's voice. It was irritating, for some odd reason. Nothing specific, which I found interesting.

[Deedra]

I usually stop reading and hope a newer version w/a better narrator comes a long.

[Katherine]

Abandon the book and hope for a better book by the same author or I choose the book that sounds better from the series if there is a series written by an author . An example of a book I abandoned is The Cupid Effect by Dorothy Koomson, and in fact I also abandoned The Ice Cream Girls, also written by her. BUT, I loved My Best Friend's Girl and Flavours of Love, which were also by her. Another example is, I really like The Morganville Vampires as a series overall, but was very bored by book 4 in the series, and left it half way.
There are times when I will read the whole book if I mostly like the storyline or if it is by an author I like just in case something happens

[Katherine]

Mari, I thought the film of Under The Tuscan Sun was OK, nothing special. I didn't know there was a book. I will see what I think of it. Guess I won't be disappointed if I think the same as you

[Margaret]

I first heard Under the Tuscan Sun narrated by Barbara Caruso for the Braille Society and loved it. I did not care for the later versions at all.

[Sean]

I am a fan of audiobooks and have been an Audible Platinum Member for several years. As many of the posters here suggest, I do listen to the sample narration to check the narration before I make my Audible selection. For the most part, this can be a fairly accurate gauge of what can be expected from the narrator.

Unfortunately, I feel I have been fooled on a number of occasions.

I enjoy reading and listening to books on history. History is the study of the past as it relates to human beings. For this reason, we often find history spanning the categories of social science and the humanities. As a writer of history, the historian researches, compiles and analyzes the 'facts of history' including information about selected events and characters and then shapes this inquiry into a narrative. A skilled writer of history will carefully construct their narrative to provide the reader with an accurate and compelling portrait of the events, characters and social forces that define their particular topic. Often, the historian will shape their study of the past to provide perspective on the present day.

Like our best literature, good historical writing depends on narrative flow and exposition to tell the story and engage the reader. When a history book is translated into an audiobook, I would assume that the audiobook producer and narrator would consider the author's original intention and narrative style when directing the narration. More and more it seems that history audiobooks are being dramatized for the listener's benefit. To my ear, these 'characterizations' are often overdone and indulgent and serve only to break up the author's carefully crafted narrative. In addition, often these audio embellishments suggest character personalities that appear to be in direct conflict not only with the author's purpose but with their historical accuracy, as well.

As a listener, I find it difficult to take any history seriously when it is being presented by the cast of the Muppets.

Recently, I purchased the audiobook THE STORM OF WAR from Audible after reading a review of the print edition in the New York Times. Historian Andrew Roberts provide some excellent new insights into the history of the epic struggle of the Second World War. They reflect much of the new scholarship on the most important event of the Twentieth Century. Unfortunately, the narrator Christian Rodska chooses to embellish this important history with vocal impressions of the major players of the conflict - Churchill, Hitler, Roosevelt, Eisenhower and Montgomery - with an irritating frequency that reduces the Second World War to a Monty Python sketch. It is one thing to listen to Stalin and his ministers being performed my Rocky and Bullwinkle but when Mr. Rodska mimics Sgt. Schultz from Hogan's Heroes to illuminate Heinrich Himmler speaking of 'the final solution,' I find the entire interpretation in questionable taste.

I remain baffled by this device. The drama of history is sufficiently present in the events and historical figures. Why not trust the power of good storytelling and the listener's imagination and leave the funny voices out of the process.

A far superior listening experience can be found in the books of David McCullough which the author personally narrates in audio format.

As a long time Audible customer, I would like to see the company clearly indicate 'dramatization of the original' for their history selections. I believe many listeners would appreciate such a warning.

Best, Sean

[Audiothing]

I'm having this problem right now, I've listened to 28 of the 35 chapters because the story is interesting. The narrator though, just keeps pulling me out of the story. I have to review this audiobook, it concerns me as I want to describe her failings (as I perceive them) but don't know the jargon with which to make my concerns clear.
I want to give a helpful review rather than a nasty one, there seems to be a dearth of advice on how to review audiobooks

[Elisabeth]

Hi Bec, that sounds a tricky one. Cant you say whatever you wanted to say about the book and then add: For you, the narrator was not the most suitable choice for this story. This way you made your point.

[Nospin]

Bec wrote: "I'm having this problem right now, I've listened to 28 of the 35 chapters because the story is interesting. The narrator though, just keeps pulling me out of the story. I have to review this audiob..."

Would it help to try and break down what is not working?

Are the dialogue voices used for the characters unbelievable or irritating?

Does the narrator's voice come across as too young or old? Accent wrong for the book?

Is the performance too breathy bringing you out of the book?

Just some ideas I hope will be helpful to you as you try to review.

[Leona]

I definitely try to listen to an extract before I commit to a book, if the narrator isn't the right fit then I'm distracted away from the narrative. I did listen to one not very long ago and all the female 'voices' sounded like hags, the male narrator simply didn't get that right and I had to give up, it was painful. I almost prefer a natural reading voice to a bad acting voice. Also I find it very frustrating if a narrator is having to 'read' foreign words and mispronounces them badly, I'm not sure how they would get around that if they don't speak the language but surely they could find a native speaker and practice? I'm sorry, I'm sure that is a very naïve thing to say, and easier said than done...the thing is that people who do speak other languages are often (I'd think)drawn to books set in the countries they have lived in or come from and I'm sure the writers do a lot of research to get the words right, seems a shame to spoil that with incorrect pronunciation...

[Susan]

I've only given up once - The Haunting of Hill House, narrated by Bernadette Dunn - a rendition I just found I could not listen to. Shame - as I enjoyed the book.

I think the narrator is absolutely critical, but also very personal. I don't like Simon Vance, for example, yet he seems hugely popular.

The problem with extracts is that they tend not to be long enough for one to get a real sense of what the narration is going to be like.

[Elisabeth]

yes to pick the right narrator is the most important . My first book has been released as a audio book a month ago. I do have some free promotion codes left. Would be interested if anybody who commented here would like one and tell me what they think

[Adrian]

My dilemma is that I want sooooo badly to listen to ancient greek and roman history, but most of these books are narrated by Charlton Griffin, whose "shouty pompous yell" style of reading sounds like nails being dragged across an endless blackboard for about twenty hours or so. And so I search desperately for other narrators - anyone, Kermit the Frog if he is available, but often to no avail. And so my recent solution is to buy the kindle version and have the electronic british girl voice read it to me (available on the Kindle Fire, which I bought for this purpose). An artificial electronic voice is not ideal, but I at least avoid the headache I get from Griffin's voice, which feels like nails pounding into my skull.

[James]

I don't think I would have gotten through the unedited "Robinson Crusoe" or "The Count of Monte Cristo" without the audiobooks. I was in a job where I was in the car for up to 3 hours a day, commuting -- so even though the narrators were kind of average, I started admiring the fact that they were sticking to the books, so, dang it, so could I! I was disappointed with a reading of "For Whom the Bell Tolls," and came away with a sense that maybe the book isn't all that great...I certainly got the impression that Hemingway was really stringing together a group of long short stories, rather than crafting a full novel. Sometimes you get more of a sense of the text from a bad narrator, because you're not being pulled in. I sometimes feel that way watching a good play performed by bad actors -- or good actors giving a bad performance. You can almost see the text floating over the performance, unaffected by what's happening on stage. I was most disappointed with a reading of "Crime and Punishment." As I listened, hour after hour, I kept wondering if my lack of interest was my problem, the translation, or the droning narrator, or the book itself? (I'll humbly assume it was me and the droning narrator, but I could be wrong...)

[[deleted user]]

James
Perfectly understandable, and I'm glad you were able to complete those books in audio form where you may not have done so in print form .
I think the classics are a bit of a challenge ( for me, anyhow ), unless I'm in the right mood, as most of their wording takes much more concentration for me than a more modern book does .
That being said , I think I'd need a good narrator to get me through some of the more challenging books . If the book content was a challenge and the narrator was so-so, then it probably wouldn't hold my interest .

[James]

Julie,

And of course one of the challenges with some classics is that the translation can be stilted or dull. But all translations are tricky. I've read different prose and poetic translations of "Beowulf" and "Gilgamesh," for instance, and there's often the sense that you're not QUITE reading the real thing. With "Crusoe," one of the challenges were the frequent religious asides--very useful to have someone walk you through those! With "For Whom the Bell Tolls," one issue was Hemingway's unusual way of getting around the 1940 strictures on naughty language, by using "(obscenity)" in the way the Congress used "(expletive deleted)" in 1973. So, among the Spanish partisans, you get lines like "Fascist pig! I (obscenity) in your (obscenity)!" That's not a direct quote, but close, if memory serves. That must be hard enough to read; it can't be easy to read out loud, and it's certainly not easy to listen to. :)

[[deleted user]]

Yes, the translations could also cause some issues ,and I don't usually like books with a lot of obscene language . I have been known to spout a bit of it myself at times, but don't like my books laced with too much of it .

[James]

But I'll bet you've never actually shouted, "Oh, obscenity!" :)

By the way, if the author is reading her or his own material, I'm interested, even if they aren't great readers. And they often aren't. Apparently, Dickens was great at reading his own work.

[Latoya]

John wrote: "I've abandoned two audiobooks because of the narrator. In one I guess he was trying to sound creepy, but he overdid it and sounded insane and sinister. The other one made the protagonist sound fran..."

LMAO! What book was it?

[Latoya]

Infected Scott Sigler

The author narrated but what turned me off was his need to add the sound effects. Just overdone and unnecessary it was. No I didn't finish it either!

[Mara]

I have had to abandon a book or series because of the narrator. I blame the producers for picking narrators that are not very or seasoned enough for us listeners to listen to other books in a series.

[[deleted user]]

I agree with those above who mention the voices that put a bit too much emphasis or emotion into their narrations. That can also ruin a book because you are paying more attention to that than the actual story. It takes a special talent for a narrator to read a book properly, depending on the type of book it is.
I don't read many horror type books or ones meant to sound spooky , so I'm not sure who would do a good job with those.
I also don't read many series books , but it would really be irritating if it's a repeat character throughout the books that has a different voice in some than others.

[Leslie D.]

I could barely make it through the SAMPLE of narration for the book 'Room'!
Also, I was enjoying Karin Slaughter's Trent County Series, but around the 4th/5th book (?), the narrator was switched--and NOT for the better...I had been enjoying the narration during first several books, but could not stand the 'new' narrator!

[Margo]

I recently returned The Poisonwood Bible as it was so badly narrated by the author. I already owned the kindle version and thought I'd actually prefer tyhe text-to-speech voice. Guess what wasn't enabled on the kindle book??!!

[[deleted user]]

Margo
I have listened to the sample of Poisonwood Bible and I know what you mean. It is one of my favorite books but I wouldn't be able to listen to it and say the same.
It's too bad when a really great book is lessened by poor or bland narration.

[Mara]

That is my biggest beef with publishers, directors, and producers of audiobooks. The narrators are great in a series we love, and then narrator is changed. UGH! Or they rerecord a wonderful series, such as AMELIA PEABODY series with a narrator that is not up to par with original narrator.

[MissSusie]

Leslie wrote: "I could barely make it through the SAMPLE of narration for the book 'Room'!
Also, I was enjoying Karin Slaughter's Trent County Series, but around the 4th/5th book (?), the narrator was switched--..."

That is surprising to me because the narration of Room is fabulous! The book is told by the 5 year old boy and I thought the narrators did a great job!

[Leslie D.]

@MissSusie--I do have extremely sensitive ears/hearing, but I know the narration of the audiobook 'Room' has been an issue with many others on Audible from reading the reviews. I found it odd that I could not stand the narration too because I have worked with special needs children for years. To me, it almost felt like the child narrator was screeching right in my ear, unfortunately, which wasn't something I wanted to pay for. The worst thing was that I REALLY wanted to read 'Room', but due to Chronic Migraine, I cannot read full print novels (yet, anyway!). Saw the movie pretty recently and really liked it. I almost always prefer the book over the movie, but in this case I didn't have much choice!

[MissSusie]

Leslie wrote: "@MissSusie--I do have extremely sensitive ears/hearing, but I know the narration of the audiobook 'Room' has been an issue with many others on Audible from reading the reviews. I found it odd that ..."

They actually did a really good job on the movie for Room there are many parts that are word for word from the book!

Hope you get some relief from your migraines!

[Margaret]

For light listening after a long, long non-fiction I wanted to listen to Calling on Dragons, the third in a children's series by Patricia Wrede, . Of the first two, I had read one on paper and listened to a well narrated version of the other. This new one was done by a group and highly praised. I found it so overdone that I downloaded the Kindle version---even though I prefer listening so I can move around get things done

[Robin P]

Margaret wrote: "For light listening after a long, long non-fiction I wanted to listen to Calling on Dragons, the third in a children's series by Patricia Wrede, . Of the first two, I had read one on paper and list..."

I went to college with Patricia Wrede, who was then Patty Collins. I remember her talking about how she wanted to write sci-fi/fantasy and how it was a great field for a woman because in those genres women are not constrained to traditional roles or characters. It's so great that she became a success!

[Tracey]

Robin wrote: "I went to college with Patricia Wrede, who was then Patty Collins. ..."

That's fantastic! I love her.

I'm in the "can't stand it-quit and return it if possible" school. I quit one book because the narrator sounded like she was putting her vocal cords under too much pressure - it sounded painful. Another book that features a character who can mentally communicate with his enhanced dog made me quit once I heard the voice the narrator gave the dog; I don't know how a talking dog should sound, but I would go with "anything but Scooby Doo". There are a couple of books I'd love to listen to rather than read, but the Audible samples are off-putting. I refuse to listen to what I consider a bad narration - there are too many good (and great) reads out there to waste the time (or money).

[siyaz]

I know I’m in the minority but I just can’t stand Xe Sands’ narrations. I try to avoid her but sometimes I give in and then I re-remember my dislike. Bless you Xe, but I really wish you had a way to work on that “I’m so in the know, and I’m humoring you” bedroom voice aspect to your narration. To me, that takes away from the joy your character might be experiencing. I appreciate the soothing tone her narration has though.

[Becky]

siyaz wrote: "I know I’m in the minority but I just can’t stand Xe Sands’ narrations. I try to avoid her but sometimes I give in and then I re-remember my dislike. Bless you Xe, but I really wish you had a way to work on that “I’m so in the know, and I’m humoring you” bedroom voice aspect to your narration."

SAME. I cannot stand her narration style, and I've only listened to one book she's read. Here's how I described her in my review of that book (which, for context, was The Murmur of Bees, which takes place in Mexico):

"She reads low and close, with a TON of vocal fry, dragging sounds together and with a lot of hesitancy sounds (ehh, ahh, uhh, etc) intermixed in the narrative, but not in a necessarily hesitant-as-in-indecisive-or-unsure way, but in a sort of "English is my second language" or "I'm thinking of how to say this" way. And she PERFORMED her sections, which is probably the worst part for me. I hate that. I want the story to flow through the reader, not be intercepted and interpreted by them."

Ugh. One book was enough for her to be on my NOPE, NEVER AGAIN LIST.

[Robin P]

Interesting, I have always liked Xe Sands but I can see what you mean. Some also dislike Katherine Kellgren as too dramatic but I like her also. I tend to dislike narrators who are slower and more monotone.

A lot of people don't like how certain male narrators do female characters and vice versa, but that's never been an issue for me.

The good thing about Audible is that you have a sample and also you can return something you don't like. I have occasionally had an issue when there are multiple narrators and only one is in the sample.

[Becky]

The Murmur of Bees was a library book, and I don't usually bother with samples for those, since I'm not paying for them. I just suck it up unless it's VERY bad.

I do sometimes have issues with male readers doing female voices, or vice versa, but usually only when it's pretty cartoonish or overly exaggerated. Like someone trying to drop their voice into a much too low register for male voices, or going super shrill for female. But mostly, I think that falls under the "performative" stuff I don't like. I don't want to notice the reader "doing the voices" at all. I want the characters to speak. That's a fine line to walk, though.

I am currently listening to The Expanse series read by Jefferson Mays, and this is a re-listen for me. I'm noticing the narration more this time around (partly because I just finished the series this previous fall, so it's pretty recent) and I can see some shifts in how he voices and pronounces things over the course of the years and books. He has very distinct voices for all of the main characters, does accents, pitches female voices up (slightly) when needed, men's down (slightly) when needed, etc. Yet I wouldn't say that he "does the voices" - he's just letting the characters speak. I don't feel like HE is getting in the way of THEM. He's channeling them for me.

That's what I always want. Most of the time, I forget entirely that I'm listening to a story, and I'm just immersed. It's wonderful.

[Joy D]

If I have borrowed the audio from the library and don't like the narration, I return it and find another format.

If I have purchased it, I will usually increase the speed and suffer through it.

I know there are people who want it "read straight" but not me. I love the feeling of listening to a dramatic performance and it is one of the reasons I enjoy audiobooks so much.

[Becky]

Joy D wrote: "I know there are people who want it "read straight" but not me. I love the feeling of listening to a dramatic performance and it is one of the reasons I enjoy audiobooks so much."

I don't know if I would like that either though. Like I just don't want the reader to be in the way of my experiencing the story, either by doing too much, or not enough.

If they can perform it in a way that feels natural, and not too much of the reader inserting themselves, then I'm fine with that. But for me, someone like Jim Dale is WAY over the top. He does voices and characters and reads in a way that I feel clashes with the way I would read/hear/interpret the scene or character. He's inserting too much of himself in between me and the story.... if that makes sense.

[Robin P]

It seems I am more on the scale of "performance" than not. But a lot of it depends on the book. When I listened to Miss Benson's Beetle and A Confederacy of Dunces, there were characters that were written as over-the-top personalities. The narration made me laugh multiple times. Reading those in my own head wouldn't have been anywhere near as funny. The same for Jim Fragione as Chet the Dog in the series by Spencer Quinn. If I had read one on paper, I probably would have said it was cute, but not read any more. Instead I was enamored and will only do the series on audio.

It's impossible for us to know how the author "heard" the character (unless they read it themselves, but that rarely succeeds.).

I am more likely to be annoyed by mispronunciations, which are the narrator's fault, and mistakes in grammar or word usage (like using modern slang in a historical novel), which are the author's fault.