When I chose this book, I just hoped that the story was at least half as good as the title (probably my all time favorite title). I was not disappointed. The book was even better
This is a collection of fifteen short stories. Many of them were odd, in a “should we get the author some help” sort of way. How does he come up with some of these ideas? Some of them were downright brilliant. Others were simply good. But I think every single one of them made me think, and that doesn’t always happen with books anymore, especially audiobooks where you are simply entertained while doing other things like driving or mowing the lawn. Now I am wondering about what happens if Social Media becomes even more powerful and your future depends on the “likes” you get? What would happen if bees or chickens ruled the world? And what would I be willing to give up to give the memories back to my favorite Alzheimer’s-stricken author? This last was both beautiful and heartbreaking.
What about the narrator? I was about halfway through the first story before I even thought about the narrator. This was not a bad thing. It was more like you don’t notice your favorite pair of jeans as you go through your day. They just fit and let you get on with your daily routine without even thinking about them. Here, the narrator just fits without getting in the way of the story. This does not mean the narrator is bad…quite the opposite, in fact. Once I decided that I needed to pay attention to the narrator for a decent review, I began to notice the absolute mastery of Bill Lord as a narrator. I am guessing that a book like this is a dream come true for a voice artist. Where else would you get to be an intelligent bee, an ex cockfighting rooster, a young woman forced to dance every moment of the day by an unforgiving virus, or even a sentient beef stroganoff? And all were done masterfully.
I was given a list of possible books that I might receive for free in exchange for a fair and unbiased review, and I chose this one based solely on the title. I hit the jackpot this time. After finishing this, I am sure I will listen to it again, which I rarely do with audiobooks. I would have gladly paid for this book and felt I received every penny worth of entertainment.
Apparently Audible likes us to use the following canned phrasing: “I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.” This is completely true in my case, but their phrasing makes me imagine crazed authors and narrators running around holding guns (or possibly exploding clowns) to the heads of innocent reviewers, forcing them to write reviews of their products. Somehow, I can imagine just such a scene showing up in the second volume of this book. If so, I want a copy of that book, too, and I will gladly pay for it.