4.5 out of 5 starsAs much as I love Murderbot, you know I had to try out the graphic audio version. I've read this book so many times now that I should be able to recite parts of it! I certainly know when to expect what. Somehow this recording felt shorter than the one narrated by Kevin R Free, but I checked and they are the same length.David Cui Cui did a good job of inhabiting Murderbot. I could tell Gurathin and Ratthi apart quite easily. Ratthi had a light Scots accent, while Gurathin had a much deeper voice. It was the women's voices that I struggled with. Eventually I got Mensah sorted out and sometimes Pin-Lee, but mostly because I know a lot of the dialogue by heart, not because the voices were clearly different.Still, it was another enjoyable visit with Murderbot and I have requested Artificial Condition: Dramatized Adaptation. These are popular, so I'm going to be waiting a while, but that's fine by me. I'll be ready when the loan is.
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| 4 out of 5 stars |
Composed toward the end
of the first millennium, Beowulf is the classic Northern epic of a
hero’s triumphs as a young warrior and his fated death as a defender of
his people. The poem is about encountering the monstrous, defeating it,
and then having to live on, physically and psychically exposed in the
exhausted aftermath. It is not hard to draw parallels in this story to
the historical curve of consciousness in the twentieth century, but the
poem also transcends such considerations, telling us psychological and
spiritual truths that are permanent and liberating.
Beowulf is an interesting window into the past—specifically
where Christianity and older pagan religions overlapped. It was
fascinating to see the older, warrior culture being lived with an
overlay of Christianity. But deeds of bravery and being able to hold
your liquor whilst on the mead-bench were still valuable commodities!
Modesty was not yet a virtue—a warrior was expected to declaim his
exploits (a la the Norse god, Bragi, from whom we get the English verb
“to brag.”)
Although I was familiar with the story line of the
first half of the poem, dealing with Grendel and his mother, I found the
second half completely new. I was unaware of the portion dealing with a
dragon that Beowulf faces. I know that Tolkien also translated this
poem and I was amazed at how similar some sections of it were to parts
of The Hobbit when Bilbo and the dwarves are dealing with Smaug, the dragon occupying the former home of the dwarves. Obviously, Beowulf was inspiring for Tolkien.
I
know that I had to translate parts of this poem from the old English
for a linguistics course that I took many years ago. I remember it being
a difficult task and I have to admire Seamus Heaney’s accomplishment.
He has created a very readable version of the text. I tried something
quite different for me with this work—I borrowed both the text and the
audio book from the library and allowed the poet to read his work to me,
while I followed along in the text. The only problem with this
arrangement was the abridgement of the spoken-word version, requiring
occasional pausing on my part to find my place further ahead in the
text. Despite this, I enjoyed the experience very much and plan to use
audio-books for other foundational texts of Western literature, such as The Iliad and The Odyssey.
Several
of my friends have warned me that is it very important who is providing
the vocal performance on an audio-book. I felt that a poet of Heaney’s
stature would have a good grasp of performing his work and I was not
disappointed.
