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A review by aaronj21
I Make Envy on Your Disco by Eric Schnall
4.0
Listen, I picked up this book on the strength of its title alone, and because it was a free audiobook. I didn’t intend to actually read it and I didn’t think I’d like it much if I did. The synopsis didn't really do anything for me and I started listening mainly as an antidote to the post reading blues I sometimes get after finishing a book.
So glad I did. This book is utterly charming in the old sense of the word. In the sense that while listening I felt I was being charmed, persuaded, influenced to perceive something favorably, possibly against my will. The whole thing is just so damn warm and friendly and oddly life affirming. Not much happens but I feel like I’m actually there. These feel like actual people and I care, oh boy do I care, about their lives. I want to know more about Magda the hotel manager. I need to see what happens with Kaspar and his bird, Warhol. I have GOT to find out what Sam and Daniel’s whole deal is. More than any specific plot point or character drama, I just love living in this story. I wish Sam’s trip in Berlin, and this book, were longer than they are.
I can’t say enough positive things about the narrator of the audiobook, Charlie Carver. He juggles a slew of different tones and dozens of distinct accents, with what seems like effortless ease. His emphatic narration and facility with tone made the listening experience feel cinematic.the humor landed, the emotional bits resonated, everything was in its proper place.
I fully recognize that I may be bringing more to this particular book than the average reader. That, like a warm beverage on a winter morning, my delight in this title has more to do with the circumstances I’m in rather than the quality of the thing itself. Even the worst coffee can be a comfort when it’s cold out and maybe this book struck me as so good because it was precisely what I needed at this specific time.
Whatever. The fact remains, I didn’t look for anything special in this book beyond an eye catching title, and yet I enjoyed myself enormously. It’s a wonderful thing to be pleasantly surprised, particularly by a book.
So glad I did. This book is utterly charming in the old sense of the word. In the sense that while listening I felt I was being charmed, persuaded, influenced to perceive something favorably, possibly against my will. The whole thing is just so damn warm and friendly and oddly life affirming. Not much happens but I feel like I’m actually there. These feel like actual people and I care, oh boy do I care, about their lives. I want to know more about Magda the hotel manager. I need to see what happens with Kaspar and his bird, Warhol. I have GOT to find out what Sam and Daniel’s whole deal is. More than any specific plot point or character drama, I just love living in this story. I wish Sam’s trip in Berlin, and this book, were longer than they are.
I can’t say enough positive things about the narrator of the audiobook, Charlie Carver. He juggles a slew of different tones and dozens of distinct accents, with what seems like effortless ease. His emphatic narration and facility with tone made the listening experience feel cinematic.the humor landed, the emotional bits resonated, everything was in its proper place.
I fully recognize that I may be bringing more to this particular book than the average reader. That, like a warm beverage on a winter morning, my delight in this title has more to do with the circumstances I’m in rather than the quality of the thing itself. Even the worst coffee can be a comfort when it’s cold out and maybe this book struck me as so good because it was precisely what I needed at this specific time.
Whatever. The fact remains, I didn’t look for anything special in this book beyond an eye catching title, and yet I enjoyed myself enormously. It’s a wonderful thing to be pleasantly surprised, particularly by a book.