Audio books

I have finished two audio books recently. It always takes a little bit of time to listen through. Lately, I have been driving long hours, and it makes for a good opportunity to listen to a book. I have finished Mythos by Stephen Fry (also narrated by him) and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (narrated by Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne).

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Mythos is Fry's story of the Greek gods. There are numerous books about the Greek gods, but I think none of them come close to this personal account. He manages to make them all alive and kicking, behaving like "normal" people with all the good and bad faults. It is a hilarious trip he takes us on, as well as juicy details of the behaviour of the gods. Fry narrates himself and that adds to the story and humour with which it has been written. A must for those interested in the stories of the Greek gods and their creation of our world, but maybe even more for those with a less pronounced interest. The book is a good way to venture into this fascinating world of the ancient gods and learn more. Interesting is also all the words and themes we use today, but did not really know came from the ancient gods. I also found it perfect to listen too. The chapters are short, and although it is a continuous story, it is easy to break up the listening.



Gone Girl is a novel which comes with a lot of baggage, that is, so many positive reviews, that one is afraid to read it. However, I wanted to watch the movie, but thought it would be better to read the book first. Although the listening spanned several months, I managed to follow the intricate story line. From the beginning I did not like the narrators, but they grew on me and as I listened along I began to admire the way they narrated. It was like actors playing the roles and both of them did it very well. It added a lot to the story.

The story as such? I will not go into any spoilers here, so will not relate it in details. Shortly, Amy is missing one day, and her husband Nick is accused of having killed her. But as the days go and no body is found, the mystery tightens. We get the narration from both persons and both perspectives. It is an interesting and quite complicated twist in the story. You really get into the characters and think you know them, even if I don't really like any of them. I did like the book, but felt it was far to long. Maybe it was necessary to be able to explain the plot and keep it until the very end. I found the end very good, although it gave me a bad feeling.

I have now started on another audio book, The Phantom Tree by Nicola Cornick. It also comes with good reviews and having only listened to a few chapters, I am totally into this book.