The story itself was engaging, and I genuinely wanted to know what happened next. Unfortunately, the audiobook narration became an unexpected source of entertainment.
The male narrator’s regular narration was fine, but his female voices were so exaggerated that I kept getting distracted. Every time he voiced a woman, I was reminded of John Cleese doing one of his over-the-top female characters in a comedy sketch. Once that image got into my head, there was absolutely no getting rid of it.
The grandmother and mother’s voices were especially memorable. Every scene featuring either of them pulled me out of the story because I wasn’t hearing distinct female characters, I was hearing what sounded like a Monty Python impression. The contrast between the dark, serious tone of the book and the narration choices made some scenes unintentionally hilarious.
What really amazes me is that this performance was recorded, edited, approved, and published without anyone saying, “Maybe let’s try a different approach to the female voices.”
If you’re reading the book with your eyes, you’ll probably have a very different experience. If you’re listening to the audiobook, be prepared: the narrator’s female voices may either drive you crazy or have you laughing when you’re definitely not supposed to be.