Good but not great

I listened to this book purely because Aoife is the best narrator of all time. I found the story difficult to get into and had to restart it many times and then gave up trying but persisted with it anyways. It was better than I had expected seeing as how I struggled at the start. Worth a listen.

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My first excursion into Magical Realism

Audiobook - 10:17 Hours - Narrator: Aoife McMahon

So, what did I think of my first "Magical Realism" book?

Firstly, it was an absolute delight listening to the narration by Aoife McMahon. Her variety of Irish vocal characterisations and accents made "The Hoarder" a book I wanted to have read to me, rather than having to try and interpret the written words in my own dodgy version of an Irish 'brogue'. In fact, this is an ideal book for the audiobook format and McMahon aces the delivery.

Secondly, I am pleased to say that "The Hoarder" somewhat taxed this old bloke's imagination. Like most people of my vintage, I grew up having stories read to me and later reading them myself. Without TV and very little on the radio, our imaginations were tickled and tricked by the Brothers Grimm, H C Andersen, Enid Blyton, and countless other authors of fantasy stories and fairy tales and "Boy's Own" or "Biggles" adventures. The weekly walk to the local library was an outing, an adventure in itself, as my older brother, my younger sister and I pleaded to be able to borrow more than three books at a time.

These days my imagination is stimulated usually by the likes of Michael Connelly, Mark Greaney and James Clavell, but not in the same way as Jess Kidd did with "The Hoarder". Kidd had me imagining the 6'9" giant and the way and where he lived; imagining the saints and wondering wtf they were actually doing, other than contributing to the 'magical realism' of the story. Mostly this was good listening, but quite frequently I would have to back up and re-listen to several paragraphs or a chapter or two so I could work out what was actually going on.

Overall, I enjoyed my first excursion into the realms of Magical Realism.

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1 person found this helpful

Poetry with an Irish accent

It doesn’t get better than the magic filled storytelling of Jess Kidd and the many layered voices of Aoife McMahon. A wonderful wonderful book

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Long

Well I was happy to get to the end. I didn’t enjoy it because it wasn’t the best thing I have ever listened too.

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