A History of Europe by J.M. RobertsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Long audio book, beautifully written but terribly narrated, alas. Best listened to in small bits as the reader has the most a-NOY-ing accent I've ever heard in an audiobook reader! I eventually got accustomed to him - there are over thirty hours worth of book - but for a while there, geesh...!
Otherwise this is actually a comparatively quick/short history of the entire continent; must admit, Mr. Roberts wasn't shy about tackling big subjects, was he? Enjoyed the fast pace and his rather sly writing - there's definitely humor here, both deliberate and otherwise (thanks to the narrator). The narrator uses an incredibly "posh" voice that cannot be real, simply must be affected in this day and age - he generally sounds as if he's auditioning for a Noel Coward play circa 1932 - that stilted sort of overly-"plummy" emphasis that the earliest sound actors in films used - it was terribly popular then as a shorthand for "upper class" but not now.The funny thing is I usually enjoy that sort of accent, just not one so, um, lavishly laid on, as it were... YMMV. I certainly hope he was just "having us on"...
2017 reread:
seem to have acclimated to narrator, enjoyed very much!
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