The Aspern Papers

By: Henry James

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

In this superb novella, a nameless narrator travels to Venice in search of Juliana Bordereau, the former lover of Jeffrey Aspern, a famous and now dead American poet. We witness the battle between a strong-willed woman who is determined to keep the secrets of a famous poet and an unscrupulous man who is equally determined to uncover them.©2009 Audio Book Contractors, Inc. (P)2009 Audio Book Contractors, Inc.

Absolutely delightful

I enjoyed every second of this audiobook. The writing is simply superb: rich, candid, subtly ironic, seemingly effortless. Almost needless to say, the characters are portrayed to perfection, with psychological and emotional depth. In short, I can't find a bad word to say about this book.

I should also note that Grover Gardner, as usual, delivers an impeccable and sensitive performance, never missing the subtle nuances in the text and bringing the book to life.

Highly recommended.

Meh.....

I think Grover Gardner is a WONDERFUL narrator. I also think Gardner is the wrong narrator for this story. It may be that I have associated his narration with too many other stories to give him a fair chance. His delivery is IDEAL for any story with a sardonic wit, a smart-arse tone or an ironic turn. But it just doesn't fit here. I kept waiting for the clever punchline.

As for the story itself....I found it uncompelling. I can enjoy a story strictly for its beautiful language but neither the plot nor the language nor the characters moved me.