by Michael Ondaatje, 2011, Audiobook read by the author, Random House Audio

The setting of this story is intriguing … three boys pretty much on their own on a steamer from Ceylon to England.  They encounter some pretty unusual characters and quite a lot of shipboard excitement.  But the story is more about the impact of such an experience on one of them and how it affected him as he became an adult.

The author narrates the story and, unlike some other attempts when the author reads his own work, the tone and pace are very much in keeping with the story.  I liked his voice and phrasing.

On the downside, however, the book seems to wander a bit and never really get to the issue.  While he tells a nice story, it didn’t get ever create the level of impact that the book was meant to impart.  He had an experience, he grew up, he remembers the experience, and it stays in his thoughts a lot.  That seems to be about it.

Also, because the entire book is narrated in the third person (other than a long letter from an Italian lady in the last part of the book), I didn’t seem to get really good feel for any of the other characters on board the ship.  Perhaps this is due to its being an audiobook versus a printed version.  For some reason, I keep wanting to compare it to Simon Vance;s reading of Charles Dickens’ work with the all  of his characters and their individual voices and dialogue in their own words.  You won’t get this here as you will hear the same very quiet voice of the narrator describing his experiences.  I think it’s well done, but when I recall how much I enjoyed Vance’s reading of Dickens, I just don’t appreciate it as much.