tortured reading

the English reading is really exhausting - the speaker over-exaggerates every single character to such an extent, that listening becomes unbearable after a while. The images I got from listening to her interpretation were distorted caricatures, like Alice in Wonderland on drugs. In addition, the heavy accent turns this into something seriously British - which I don't think fits with the French original at all. When I was about to throw my phone out the window, I decided to give up and return this audiobook. I bought the German version instead - and low and behold, now I'm enjoying the book, able to relax as I listen.
The story... well, it starts out very intersting, but unfortunately it turns into endless descriptions of a world full of classist hierarchies, intrigue, and very old school gender patterns (really? why? it just doesn't seem current). At some point the listener will ask themselves: where actually ist the story? Is there a story at all in all this fluff?
Testing the listeners patience, for hours and hours of the book, the main character remains a timid little girl who goes along with even the most awful mistreatment. If it wasn't for occasional moments of resistance that promise something more, and hints that there might be a story after all, I would've put it aside by now. It reminds me a bit of trying to read a game of thrones book, where you start to wonder if he's ever going to get to any point or storyline at all.
However, the world the author created is really fun, and somehow I can't help but like Ophelia despite wanting to shake her into standing up for herself and finally doing something, so I'll give it until the end of book one until I decide whether it's worth it.

2 Leute fanden das hilfreich