Beautiful story RUINED by this narrator

Who gave this narrator the job
There must have been no editor or producer to supervise
Absolutely terrible narration. The voices for the characters, tempo. Sentiment. All terrible
Ruined the story completely

5 people found this helpful

This is the worst narrator I have Ever listened to

Would you try another book written by Eva Ibbotson or narrated by Kate Lock?

The narrator was so awful that I found it impossible to get beyond the first chapter, therefore I cannot comment on Eva Ibbotsons work. May I suggest Kate Lock is better suited to narrating children's books?

What was most disappointing about Eva Ibbotson’s story?

See above

Would you be willing to try another one of Kate Lock’s performances?

Never.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Morning Gift?

Not applicable.

Any additional comments?

None

6 people found this helpful

Atrocious Narration

This is a wonderful book. I was really looking forward to listening to it, unfortunately it was ruined by really bad narration. The narrator puts on a fake Austrian accent for much of the book which ruins the personalities of the characters and is unbearable to listen to. I gave up in the end. Such a shame that more attention is not given to the quality of narration - I'm sure Kate Lock is capable of a lovely performance

2 people found this helpful

A great book spoilt

I love Eva Ibbotson and this book but this a painful rendition. I usually listen to audio books at bedtime but I find this version actually stressful to listen to. The way the characters are voiced is both irritating and a poor reflection of the way their characters are described.

1 person found this helpful

Appalling narration

I love this story. It's one of my favourite books ever, and when I saw it on Audible I was excited to buy it, but the narration is so unbearable I couldn't possibly listen to it - and I gave it a good chance, in hopes of it acquiring some redeeming features. It did not. The characters' voices are just horrendous: rich, complex characters with great intelligence reduced to caricatures with horrible whiny faux-Austrian accents. The problem is this is narrated as if it's a book for 7 year olds, when it is not a children's book at all. I don't even agree with its recategorisation to YA to be honest but that's a separate point.

All in all, wonderful, beautiful story. Horribly narrated. I'm terribly disappointed.


Addendum: out of interest I searched for reviews of other books narrated by Kate Lock and every single book I looked at had poor reviews for narration. I really hate to say this, but I will remember her name as I would be 100% put off by listening to any book narrated by her.

1 person found this helpful

Could have been written for five hours rather than 17

Way too much detail which didn’t add anything which made the book very dull for me. I don’t like giving up on books but two thirds in I really couldn’t take any more

great book but didn't need the Austrian accents.

I defy anyone to not enjoy this book. Eva Ibbotson is a wonderful writer and though I don't usually read romance novels, I read this because Marian Keyes recommended it. the audio, though still enjoyable is ruined by the decision of the narrator to use Austrian accents. I don't do this when I read so why would I want to hear it when read to me?

torture yo my ears

This was a book club read and I decided to have an audio version so that I could listen to it while cooking and washing up as I find it hard to find time to sit and read.
Right from the beginning the narrator grated on my nerves. She over exaggerated every character's accent which turned them into characatures. She made Ruth sound like an old lady or a simpering idiot and totally ruined my enjoyment of the romance between her and Quin. it was like being in an episode of Allo Allo at times!!!
I had to stick with it as I didn't want to purchase the book when I had already bought the audio. It was however torture to the ears from start to end. I believe that this narrator should stick to narrating children's books. A well written and interesting book was reduced to a joke. Judging by the reviews I am not alone in my thoughts about this narrator. It has made me wary about purchasing any more fiction audible books. I will certainly read the reviews beforehand from now on.

Appalling narration

I loved A Song for Summer so bought this to listen to while I sewed scrubs. I’ve got as far as Chapter 7 but the attempt of the narrator to ‘do’ various accents has made me think twice about finishing it. I have just bought the Kindle version of the book and shall read it myself!

just lovely and absorbing!

One of my favorite books from my teenage years, the rare thing of a genuinely great romance, but with scope and humour and intelligence.