Man in the Woods

De: Scott Spencer

Narrado por: Christopher Burns

“A smart, haunting thriller with bass reverb and a pounding heart.”
—Jayne Anne Phillips, author of the National Book Award finalist Lark and Termite

Scott Spencer, the acclaimed author of Endless Love and A Ship Made of Paper, reaffirms his storytelling mastery with Man in the Woods—a gripping psychological thriller about a carpenter at loose ends and the crime of passion that radically reorders his world. Rudy Wurlitzer lauds Man in the Woods as a stunning work that offers “heartbreaking insights into the dark frailties of human nature,” and which he calls, “a page turner from beginning to end.” And New York Times bestselling author Francine Prose hails its achievement, writing, “In this brilliant novel, Scott Spencer further expands his range.”

Man Drifting....

Enjoyed the book and the presentation. The story is an excellent narration of s good hearted human being caught up in the addiction of gambling that controlled his life and utimately led to a sad ending.

Good book, but not a perfect reading

This is a good book - no question about it. The characters are complex and complete. The author confronts questions of morality that are just as complex and he doesn't resort to any easy ways out.
However I did not care for Christopher Burns' reading. He uses special emphasis and dramatic pauses constantly, which gets annoying and muddies the drama inherent in the writing itself.

Ugh!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

The narrator was the type who makes you work very hard to try to ignore, while still keeping track of the story. Quite a difficult task. Maybe someone who prefers flat mystery novels would like this book?

What could Scott Spencer have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Been a sharper writer.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

In every way. The voice of Kate Ellis was particularly grating.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment.

Any additional comments?

Stay away if you like really great writing and great performances.

Lacked depth

I bought this listen after an NPR interview with the author. I was thrilled to be able to read a book by someone who is interested in one of my preoccupations: life goes along just fine, and then something happens and after that, nothing is the same.

However, in this story, everything not only goes on as before, it even gets better! The open-ended final scene is not a valid consequence to the protagonist's behavior, and instead of an introspective story about how the main character deals with his life after committing a crime, the act itself is just background noise.

I tried to find something to like in this book but it was impossible. The sentences go on and on so long that by the time you get to a full stop you've forgotten what the point was. There are too many meandering irrelevant stories included with every character's appearance, and there are way too many characters. An entire chapter is devoted to describing what everyone is wearing at a New Year's Eve party. And I can't believe the author made the Y2K thing such a big deal - didn't he remember it was nothing? Or is this an old book repackaged?

The narrator reads in an emphatic sort of way, stressing every word, so the reading ends up sounding slightly sarcastic and artificially exaggerated.. I don't think that was the author's intent, but the reading does not sound genuine.

Nothing in this book worked for me. In spite of the reviews, it's not about bonding with animals, and it's not about how you would deal with committing a crime. It's just...well...much ado about nothing.