Gentle and original story

I saw and enjoyed the film many years ago, and have since become a Richard Matheson fan, so when this book became available, I leapt at it. The book does not disappoint and the film did the book justice. It is a touching love story told in the first person, like so many of RM's books, although the story is in the form of diary memoirs discovered by the protagonists brother. The brother regards the story as the wishful or deluded writings of a dying man, and I suppose this poses the possibility to the reader too. It is a beautifully narrated love story at heart and I would highly recommend it.

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3 people found this helpful

Enjoyable, detailed and intriguing

I seem to recall the movie, but the book is definitely better.
I would recommend a listen.

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The best audio book that I have ever listened to.

For those that have seen the movie (which is fantastic), the book is so much better. The Author and the Narrator were both equally amazing. The descriptions and narration made me feel like I was there, experiencing and feeling everything. I was captivated all the way through and thinking at the end of the story did this really happen? I was left feeling that I have travelled through time whilst listening to this. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G-!

This book is the top of my list, I will be looking out for more books from that Narrator, he made this audiobook Perfect.

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2 people found this helpful

An interesting story let down by its narrator

The story is fine, it's not that. For those of you that don't know, it involves a young writer willing himself to go back in time after he falls in love with the picture of a woman who died decades previously. The fact that he is dying of a brain tumour adds to the conceit that he may be imagining the whole thing. I certainly know which side of the coin I ended up on.

The problem with this adaptation of Matheson's story is that the narrator, Scott Brick, reads the whole thing in a breathy, affected tone throughout the novel. It becomes so irritating that if it hadn't been for the fact that I was so interested in the plot, that I would have stopped listening, although it was a grind. Honestly, I kind of wanted to throttle him. His voice fades down the end of most words, and intonates inappropriately at every opportunity.

For an example of unaffected, trained and solid audiobook acting, try Jake Gyllenhaal's reading of The Great Gatsby. There you'll find an actor comfortable to let the text do the work. I'm afraid that Mr Brick seems to want to put too much of his own stamp on the text, which is a shame.

From researching him, I can see that Mr Brick is an experienced audiobook actor, however, after this experience with his work I will be thinking twice before purchasing any book he narrates.

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4 people found this helpful

Beautifully written and narrated

This is a wonderful audio book. It is a moving love story that stands the test of time. I have seen the film, but this audio book is in a class of its own, to be listened to again and again.

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