The Awkward Age

By: Henry James

Narrated by: Flo Gibson

The interwoven relationships of a close circle of friends involved in the launching of two young ladies into society and marriage are examined through repartee.

Public Domain (P)1994 Audio Book Contractors, Inc.

Unlistenable

This narrator seems to have her fans, but I did not make it far before giving up. I found her to be awful.

Not worth it

I have listened to tons of James. Flo Gibson is trying (all that simpering for female characters) with any book, but combine her with bad James and you get misery. This book is dull, inscrutable, and filled with unlikable characters. I could not wait for this mess to end.

oh dear

The best thing that can be said about this recording of a great though difficult novel is that it exists, thanks to that great pioneer of audio books Flo Gibson. It is an old recording transferred from tapes and the quality is sometimes poor. The big problem, though, is that this is a difficult novel to begin with and Gibson's monotonous style doesn't help. She doesn't have much range for differentiating characters' voices and that is crucial here because the book is play-like, written almost entirely in dialogue. Having already read this novel once, I listened to this recording in the car strictly as a supplement to a careful re-reading at home, and to that limited extent it was useful.