Sex, Lies and Leonardo DaVinci

If you've noticed, I like historical fiction. I anticipated a good read in Leonardo's Swans by Karen Essex, a book about two competitive, noble sisters living during the Italian Renaissance. OK, the presence of Leonardo daVinci in the book did give me pause.

I should've paused a little longer, then returned the audiobook to the shelf. The scheming sisters' political maneuverings - blech. The comical sex scenes - double blech. The historical aspects seemed incidental to the taudry romances, and in spite of the massive amounts of intrigue, I was bored.

And daVinci? Does every book have to feature daVinci these days? Damn you, DaVinci Code.

I can see how this book would appeal to a certain type of reader - probably a big fan of romance novels. Maybe I would've even enjoyed it if I had gone into it anticipating that deliciously sinful sort of book. Instead, I was disappointed.

A Story Quiet and Loud

Never Let Me Go has received plenty of acclaim this year. Kazuo Ishiguro’s book landed on the top books of 2005 lists of the NY Times Book Review, Salon.com, and probably several more esteemed publications I’m too lazy to look up.

The acclaim is deserved. Never Let Me Go is quiet, lovely, haunting and strange. And the audio version – silkily narrated by Rosalyn Landor – is perhaps the ideal way to enjoy it. Ms. Landor transmits the melancholy and the muted beauty in the words.

This is a book that made me feel things. It tweaked my social conscience. It made me cry a little. It made me marvel at the way Ishiguro could capture so perfectly what it means to be a human.

I won’t tell you anymore about it. I’ll just say read it. It isn’t exciting or action-packed by any means. The main character Kathy H. tells her tale slowly and fastidiously, evaluating the fallibility of her own memory as she goes. But sometimes – even in audiobook form – action is secondary. You can get lost in a book like this one.

Bare Bones

Ah, the drastic abridgment rears its ugly head. At least, I hope that was the problem with Memoirs of a Geisha. I expected such good things from this book, mostly based on name recognition and the movie previews. Sadly, I was unimpressed. At a meager three CDs, I wonder just how much this abridged version cut out. This version was little more than a list of events, not much detail and not much in between to let us get to know the characters or care enough about their fate.

I definitely recommend listening to the unabridged version of this audiobook. I plan to check out the print book from the library, because the bones of this story are so good, I know the flesh of it must be even better.

Listening to this abridged version reminded me of watching a movie, only I think the movie will be better. I hope so – I’m planning to see it tonight.

The one thing I loved about this audiobook was the narrator. I’m not sure who she is, but her Japanese accent and pronunciation of the Japanese words really set the tone of the novel. I’ve had all these geisha terms floating in my head ever since I finished the book.