Anita

By: Keith Roberts

Narrated by: Nicola Barber

Audie Award, Fantasy, 2013

Award-winning author, narrator, and screenwriter Neil Gaiman personally selected this book, and, using the tools of the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), cast the narrator and produced this work for his audiobook label, Neil Gaiman Presents.

A few words from Neil on Anita: "Anita is an almost forgotten novel by one of the finest UK writers. But it is a favorite of mine. Anita works on two levels: on the one hand, the stories are a product of the 1960s - they come out of a swinging world and a "Georgy Girl" time, and Keith Roberts, then a young art director, has captured the feel of the sixties. At the same time, he writes about a teenage witch being brought up by her Granny; he writes about a young witch falling in love, getting her heart broken, about change and growing up and compromise, about what magic is and how you can lose it sometimes and how you can get it back. And the character of Anita's Granny is amazing, one of Keith Roberts' best characters…. [Anita] set the template for all the teenage witch stories that come after, and she did it better and more magically. I wanted these stories back in "print", where people could hear them and could fall in love with Anita and Granny, as I did."

Meet Anita Thompson: she's young, she's lovely, she's clever ... and she's a witch. A real one.

Anita lives in two worlds: the modern world of supermarkets and sports cars, radio and rock & roll, where she is a thoroughly modern girl with a thoroughly modern interest in boys and fast living and her own independence. But the ancient and rustic world of traditions, cauldrons, and familiars , where she and her Granny (a witch of the Old School, broom and all) invoke elemental spirits int he service of Him Wot's Down Under. She has senses no ordinary mortal can imagine (at least nine); with them, she can hear the voices of every creature of the night. She can changer her shape, call a drowned corpse from a lake, reverse the flow of time, and ride the Sea Serpent (there's only the one, you know; always has been -- always will be) deep into the ocean in the company of a mermaid, even though the modern world is trying to crowd aside -- and even change -- that world of witchcraft and magic. Yet, complicated as a young witch's life may become, Anita never loses her sense of fun, or her essential innocence.

When the Anita stories first appeared in Science Fantasy and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in the late 1960s, they were immediately recognized as a strikingly original departure for the author of such celebrated works as Pavane. One critic called the original 1970 collection of these stories a "treasure." This new volume presents the stories in the author's corrected, definitive texts, a new introduction by the author, and an additional story which did not appear in the first edition.

To hear more from Neil Gaiman on Anita, click here, or listen to the introduction at the beginning of the book itself.

Learn more about Neil Gaiman Presents and Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX).

©1990 The Estate of Keith Roberts (P)2011 Wildside Press LLC

The Adventures of the British Teen-age Witch

Anita Thompson is a witch. Not an ancient, cantankerous witch (that would be her Gran) but a young witch ready to make her mark on the world. I just don't think the world, in this case, late 1960s England is ready for her.

"Anita" by Keith Roberts has been on my TBR pile for some time. The first edition of the book in the 1970s collected all the Anita stories that had appeared in the pages of Science Fantasy and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. She became the prototype for many teen witches to follow.

Anita is a thoroughly modern witch in a world of supermarkets, televisions, and sports cars. But she is still a witch and can whip up a spell-raising with the best, or worst, of them. But she is also generally a good girl who falls in love with whatever handsome boy or pretty girl (or mermaid) that crosses her path.

I picked up the most recent audiobook version from "Neil Gaiman Presents" with a wonderful introduction by Neil himself. I agree with him that Nicola Barber was a fantastic choice to give voice not only to Anita but her old Gran as well. It is a treat to hear her do Gran's voice.

This version is based on the 1990 edition with edited text, mostly to bring the stories in line with each other, and adds a new story of Anita in the 1980s. It seems though, like many witches, Anita ages slower than humans.

The whole series is quite a treat and Anita is easily a likable character. She is sweet, fun and even she is not being particularly nice she is still fun. Don't get me wrong, these are not saccharine exploits of a teen girl who happens to have powers ala the first Sabrina the Teenage Witch series. The undertone is closer to Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, including Anita knowing her soul is already damned. In one story a girl Anita falls in love with kills herself over a boy so Anita animates the corpse and terrorizes the entire suburb that the girl was from.

The book is a forgotten gem really and I would have loved to have heard more exploits of Anita. Does she ever settle down (doubt it!), is she still working as a veterinary assistant to Dr. MacGregor? (I can see that). Did she ever have sex with Dr. MacGregor? (Hard to say!) and so on.

Mostly charming, sometimes irritating

Written in the mid-to-late 60's (I believe), the Anita stories were among the earliest in the now common genre of teenage/young-adult witches in the modern world. I'm finding the collection mostly charming, though it does occasionally seem a bit sexist, a bit too leering - an artifact of the times in which the stories were written, I suppose. Gaiman's introduction and the talented narrator, Nicola Barber, have made this delightful to listen to. Some of the stories are a bit weak, but most have been enjoyable.

Not what I expected

Original story, good narration, i just couldn't get into it. I like stories about magic and such but this one couldn't hook me.

The Narrator really makes the story(s) shine.

The description of the book doesn't let you know that his book is really a bunch of short stories about Anita's life (at least I didn't pick up on it). There are a few characters that carry over from one story to the next but theres no over all plot. So with that in mind the stories are great to listen to and mostly humorous.

The Narrator Nicola Barber switches from one voice to the next with apparent ease and is really fun to listen to she really make Anita personality come to life. Some of the characters have thick Scottish (i think) accents and some don't have any accent at all so the variety was really pleasing.

I picked this up for a long drive and my gf (who mostly sleeps throu long trips) enjoyed just having it on and listening to Barbers voice when she was awake. She didn't follow the stories but really enjoyed the narration.

Sitcom

Kind of like reading a sitcom, a bunch of different little stories. Very enjoyable, just fun.

Anita; a young witch will have you spellbound!

What did you love best about Anita?

The perfect narrator really brought the characters to life.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Anita?

Every story in the book really just sparkles with humor and love of life, wonderful vivid descriptions of the woods and creatures, and with Anita's unique perspective.

What about Nicola Barber’s performance did you like?

She really is the perfect fit for this book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Oh no, this is is a linked series of tales.

Any additional comments?

Just absolutely delightful fun.

Charming, but not what I was expecting

When I started this book I was expecting a unified narrative, start to finish, but it turned out to be just a series of loosely connected short stories. Each episode was self-contained, in and of itself. All the stories charming, and many were funny and/or sweet. But ultimately, I really just wanted a long story with a beginning-middle-end, and this definitely was not that. I think my reaction probably says more about my own state of mind as I was listening to Anita than it does about the actual quality of the writing. My expectations prevented me from enjoying this book fully.

Great Summer Fun

What made the experience of listening to Anita the most enjoyable?

Nicola Barber's performance was terrific.

What about Nicola Barber’s performance did you like?

She got all the voices spot-on.

Any additional comments?

Neil's introduction really helped to set the scene and explain the book - a collection of stories vs. a linear narrative.

Wanted to like it more.

Bought based on review. I wanted to like it more. Was hard for me to get through but I did. The young lead's stubborn inability to learn from experience was a bit hard for me to enjoy. However, it was VERY well written so that part of the review was dead on accurate.

Thanks to Neil Gaiman for introducing us to Anita

This was a fun book. The chapters are separate short stories and one doesn't necessarily flow into another however, they do follow in a chronological order as Anita learns to use her powers and improve her skills.