Karin Alvtegen: Svik

Utgitt av Lydbokforlaget i 2004.

Lydbok, 7t 16m.

Lest av Andrine Sæther.

The review is in English.

Karin Alvtegen: Skygge

Utgitt av Lydbokforlaget i 2008.
Lydbok, 11t 17m.
Lest av Morten Andresen.



The review is in English.

Carl-Johan Vallgren: Kunzelmann & Kunzelmann

Utgitt av Lydbokforlaget i 2009.
Lydbok, 17t 57m.
Lest av Kai Remlov.
Boka kom opprinnelig ut på svensk i 2009.



The review is in English.

Johan Theorin: Skumringstimen

Utgitt av Lydbokforlaget i 2008.
Lydbok, 12t 59m.
Lest av Birgitte Victoria Svendsen.
Boka kom opprinnelig ut på svensk i 2007.



The review is in English. :-)

Jack Kerouac: På kjøret

Utgitt av Lydbokforlaget i 2006.
Opprinnelig utgitt på engelsk i 1957.
Lydbok, 11t 53m.
Oversatt av Olav Angell, lest av Mads Ousdal.

Harlan Coben: I den skogen

Utgitt av Cappelen Damm i 2009.
Opprinnelig utgitt på engelsk i 2007.
Lydbok, 12t 23m.
Oversatt av Sissel Busk; lest av Christoffer Staib.

Margaret Atwood: Oryx and Crake

Published by Chivers Audio Books in 2004.
Audiobook, obviously; 12h 35m, read by John Chancer.

Arnaldur Indridason: Vinterbyen

Utgitt av Cappelen Damm i 2008.
Lydbok, 9t 27m, lest av Ivar Nørve.

Arnaldur Indridason: Røsten

Utgitt av Cappelen Damm i 2008.
Lydbok, 9t 12m, lest av Ivar Nørve.

Muriel Barbery: Pinnsvinets eleganse

Utgitt av Lydbokforlaget i 2008.
Lydbok, 8t 55m, lest av Janne Kokkin og Silje Lundblad.

Göran Tunström: Juleoratoriet

Utgitt av Lydbokforlaget i 2004.
Lydbok, 11t, lest av Kim Haugen.

Ben Elton: High Society

Published by Isis Audiobooks in 2003.
Audiobook, obviously; 12h 45m, read by Greg Wagland.

Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre

Utgitt av Fono Forlag i 2004.
Lydbok, 11t 10m, lest av Marika Enstad.

Kjell Askildsen: En plutselig frigjørende tanke

Utgitt av Lydbokforlaget i 1998.
Lydbok, 2t 25m, lest av forfatteren.

Monique Truong: The Book of Salt

Published by W.F. Howes in 2004.
Audiobook, 12 hours, read by Jeff Woodman.

An audiobook I borrowed at the library and read last month. For a plot summary, go here.

This book is a fictional memoir and also falls into the category of 'foodie books' as it talks a lot - a lot! :-) - about food and things related to food, and entwines its story with these concepts. And it does so very beautifully. I enjoyed this book tremendously in many ways. One of them that I have to mention is the reader. Woodman has a very expressive voice and he reads this book in a way that is very intimate and personal. I really enjoyed his reading here and have enjoyed it elsewhere too. He's definitely becoming a plus for me in my selection of audiobooks.

The plot of this book was very intriguing to me and the setting very convincingly described. A lot of fun characters and entertaining little scenes. The book has many amusing moments but overall is very poignant and sad. An emotional story, a creative and original work. Very well written ... touching without being blatant about it. I enjoyed reading it and I will definitely be looking for more books by this author.

David Mitchell: Cloud Atlas

Published by Isis in 2005.
Audiobook, 21h 30m, read by various.

I 'read' this book last month, and I have to say that I have never enjoyed any audiobook more. I picked it up from the library totally on an impulse - I didn't know anything about it other than that it is on the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. The very vague ideas I had formed about it bore no relation to reality, as it turned out. I started listening with a completely blank slate. At first I was very confused, but pretty soon I was enthralled, amazed and deeply impressed.

I'm sure this book is a great read as a regular printed book as well, but it is ideally suited for the audio format as it is comprised of six different stories, each with its own narrator, and in the audiobook these have all been given their own voices. IMO all the readers did a fantastic job, they were all well chosen and they all read their sections superbly. I loved listening to them all and was completely won over by this book.

I won't go into the plot, I don't think, because I don't know where I'd be able to stop. ;-) It's a complicated story, or rather six complicated stories, all of them entangled in each other, and all of them intriguing, well constructed and well written. Each centers on one character who has some connection to the next in line. The book is constructed as a pyramid ... and I'll leave you to find out exactly what I mean by that. ;-) You can read more about the book and its author here. It's pretty fascinating. I am so happy that I read this book.

This book was a completely enthralling read. I could, metaphorically speaking, hardly put it down. I was sad to see it end. I think it may well end up to be my #1 read this year. It's so clever, such an intelligent and complicated construction of stories ... it's original, it's inspired ... it's so well written, the author adapts his language to each character and they are all so believable. The settings are fascinating and the plots engrossing. I was so impressed with this book. I can't believe that I'd never really heard of the author before now. I will so definitely be reading more of his books. He is a brilliant writer. :-)

Don't miss this book. I seriously cannot recommend it enough.

Tracy Chevalier: Girl with a Pearl Earring

Published by W.F. Howes in 2003.
Audiobook, 8 hours, read by Ruth Ann Phimister.

A book I wanted to read because I've heard a lot about it - a lot of positive things - and because I saw the movie when it came out and enjoyed it a lot. Of course, Colin Firth ... but I also liked the story and the setting. I do like a good historical drama, so I decided to finally try this book.

Not sure any plot summary is necessary, but here it is: Our heroine, Griet, is from a respectable family that has fallen on hard times because her father has lost his eyesight and thus can no longer work. Griet is the oldest child - 14, as fas as I recall - and as such has to do her share for the family. A place is found for her in a household where the husband is a respected painter and the wife is a baby-making machine. They're low on cash - because he paints so slowly - and in need of an extra pair of hands. Griet doesn't quite fit in, and at first is unhappy in the Vermeers' home, but as the time passes she settles in more and more. During her daily shopping trips she gets to know a boy at the market ... and during her work in the house she gets to know her master and his quirks. She becomes more and more impressed with the great artist's work. In fact she can hardly tear herself away. But the society she lives in is very strict and its rules are not to be trifled with. What will her master ask of her, and what will she choose to do ... ?

A very low-key story with a fascinating and extremely well described setting. I totally believed in this recreation of 17th-century Delft. The characters were very well-rounded and convincing. Although not a lot happens - the plot is hardly action-packed - the story is both moving and fascinating. The reader does a fantastic job - I had never heard of her before coming across this audio edition but her voice is perfect as Griet's. She does an amazing job and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing her read this novel.

I will definitely be reading more by this author. :-)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Purple Hibiscus

Published by Whole Story Audio Books in 2005.
Audiobook, 12h 15m, read by Lisette Lecat.

I picked this book basically because I've heard good things about the author, although I had never read her before, and because I was interested in reading a book from Nigeria. I had actually looked at the book before too, but had never had an opening, so to speak. :-) But then one day I needed a new audiobook and this was on the shelf.

Very luckily, in fact, as it was a wonderful read. A low-key but absorbing story with fascinating characters, beautifully narrated. I enjoyed the book tremendously and will definitely be returning to this author.

Brief plot summary: The main character, Kambili, is a teenage girl who lives with her father, mother and brother in a prosperous home. Her father is a successful businessman, but he is also domineering, overbearing, obsessed with his religious ideals and determined that his whole family be picture perfect. He sets impossible standards for his two children, who almost erase their own identities striving to live up to his demands. They've lived with this man their whole lives, and so don't see the way he is metaphorically suffocating them ... terrible things happen in their comfortable home, but they don't impinge properly on Kambili and her brother Jaja. Not until they spend some time with their father's sister Ifeoma and her family. Aunt Ifeoma opens their eyes to just how messed up their own family is. But what are they to do? Both of them are so beaten down by their father's possessiveness and his crushing ideals. Kambili almost despairs at the thought of going back to her locked-up life, but feels there's nothing she can do. Jaja, on the other hand, refuses to let things go back to how they were. And as their mother too is touched by the need for change, an opportunity opens for Jaja to really make a difference ...

A beautiful story, actually, despite its tragedy. The setting is fascinating and the characters very believable and well-rounded. Very well written. The narrator reads the book wonderfully, I thought her voice was completely convincing as the timid and oppressed Kambili. A fascinating plot, and a story that shows very well how religion can destroy the human mind. A book I definitely recommend.

Jane Austen: Overtalelse

Utgitt av Lydbokforlaget i 2003.
Lydbok, 8t 15m, lest av Petronella Barker.

Originalens tittel er selvfølgelig Persuasion, og boka ble opprinnelig utgitt i 1818.

Jeg vet ærlig talt ikke hva jeg skulle trenge å si om denne boka, for enhver dannet person kjenner selvfølgelig til den. ;-) Det er en gripende, trist, velskrevet, vakker, sjarmerende, spennende og følelsesladet skildring av en ung kvinne og en periode av hennes liv. Det er den mest 'lavmælte' av Austens bøker, men kanskje også den mest rørende.

Hovedpersonen er den 27 år gamle Anne som bor sammen med sin overflatiske far og sin irriterende storesøster i familiesetet Kellynch Hall. De er lokale storfolk, men økonomisk står det ikke så bra til. Familien har levd over evne - Anne har dog svært liten del i dette og er forøvrig beskjeden på nesten alle måter - og etter hvert går det ikke bedre enn at de må leie ut huset og bosette seg i Bath. Anne gleder seg ikke til å flytte og unngår dette i det lengste ved å reise på besøk til den andre søsteren sin, som er gift og har sin egen familie. Under dette besøket hender det både det ene og det andre ... for Annes del er det mest betydningsfulle at hun treffer igjen en gammel bekjent, en mann noen få år eldre enn henne som er bror til kvinnen som nå er husfrue i hennes barndomshjem. For åtte år siden kjente Anne denne mannen, og hun elsket ham. Han ville gifte seg med henne, men den gang var han ung og fattig og uten tydelige fremtidsutsikter ... og Anne lot seg overtale, av dem som var eldre og mer erfarne enn henne selv, til å avvise frieriet. Nå er hun selv eldre og klokere, og hun har angret på avgjørelsen sin i alle disse årene. Nå er han tilbake i livet hennes. Men han elsker henne ikke lenger. Eller ... ?

Dette er en så nydelig og vakker og fullstendig vidunderlig bok. Fantastisk. Jeg kan ikke anbefale den sterkt nok. :-) Denne oversettelsen er god og boken blir fantastisk godt lest av skuespiller Petronella Barker. En kjempefin lydbokopplevelse som jeg kommer til å gjenta; boken ble lånt på biblioteket og ligger nå lagret på harddisken min. :-) Jeg gleder meg allerede til å 'lese' den igjen. :-)

Liza Marklund: Livstid

Utgitt av Piratforlaget i 2007.
Lydbok, 12 timer, lest av Lena Meieran.

Hittil nest siste Annika Bengtzon-bok. Jeg 'lånte' denne av moren min i juleferien - hun hadde den liggende på mp3 da jeg var hjemme på besøk og jeg så mitt snitt til å legge den over på min kjære lille Creative Mosaic-spiller. Jeg hørte på boka i annen halvdel av forrige måned.

Kort om historien: en landskjent politimann blir funnet brutalt drept i sitt hjem, og hans tre år gamle sønn er sporløst forsvunnet. Deres kone hhv mor blir arrestert på tross av at hun ser ut til å ha hatt en psykotisk episode ... hun blir snart stemplet som den skyldige og politiet setter alt inn på å bevise at deres oppfatning av saken stemmer med virkeligheten. Parallelt følger vi hennes beste venninne, som ikke vet hva hun skal tro, og Annika, som selvsagt ivrig graver i saken etter at alle har bedt henne gi opp, her er det ikke mer å finne. Vår heltinnes traurige privatliv går også videre, hun er endelig kvitt den ubrukelige dusten hun har vært gift med, og han på sin side er i ferd med å oppdage at den spennende dama man har på si ikke er like spennende når hverdagslivet setter inn. Bwahahaha.

Denne boka syntes jeg sto mer til troende enn den forrige. Plottet var relativt godt oppbygd og persongalleriet interessant. Det ble litt i overkant dramatisk mot slutten ... litt for 'Hollywood' for min smak. Boka hadde IMO vært bedre hvis den hadde fått stå alene, med nye personer og ny setting. Jeg synes at denne serien generelt illustrerer 'serieproblemet' veldig godt, og poengterer hvor smart Minette Walters er som ikke har gått i den fella. :-) Selv om dette var en lesverdig og forsåvidt spennende bok bør Marklund snart pensjonere Bengtzon og prøve seg på noe nytt ... hvis hun får det til. >:-)

Oppleser gjør en god jobb, og det er selvsagt ikke hennes feil at oversettelsen ikke er helt god; skjemmet av samme type tabber som jeg har påpekt i tidligere omtaler av disse bøkene.