LENGTH
9 hours and 49 min
READ BY
Dion Graham
Performance
Overall
Excellent, Unforgettable, Best of the nest
Very good, thoroughly enjoyed,
Good, Solid, Enjoyed many aspects
STAR RATINGS GUIDE
Brilliant In Many Ways
THE BIRDICT
💛 This is dreamy, dark and powerful. The themes and parallels drawn in this book are masterfully crafted, the use of monsters and gods as metaphors for the very real evils of our world - prejudice, injustice, double standards - is brilliant and the prose is mermesiring.
💚 It takes time to get to the meat of the story. I would say 20-30% of the listening time is devoted to exposition which could have been peppered throughout the rest of the book. The cast of characters is myriad as are the storylines. Whilst this is impressive, it also makes it tricky to connect with individual ones and to follow the narrative.
🧡 Much as Animal Farm has little to do with livestock, so this uses fantasy elements as allegories for complex political and philosophical concepts. The writing style reminded me of Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel.
Big thanks to NetGalley, Cadwell Turnbull and Blackstone Publishing for providing me with an ALC in return for an honest review.
SQUAWKING THE TALK
🎧 Dion Graham delivers a performance that can only be described as spellbinding.His deep, sonorous voice is perfect for the role of the omniscient narrator, bringing with it gravitas with an ethereal quality.
🎧 Listening to Graham is incentive enough to recommend this audiobook, but this is not an easy listen. I had to concentrate quite intensely to follow the plot, meaning this isn’t one that can be on while driving or browsing the internet.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: SIMILAR AUDIOBOOKS
Out of gallery
No spoilers for this one. Maybe next time!
