Benjamin Button and Tales of the Jazz Age

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Narrated by: Alan Munro

This audiobook collection contains some of Fitzgerald’s best stories from the Roaring '20s. Included on the audio are the classics "The Jelly-Bean", "The Camel's Back", "May Day", "Porcelain and Pink", "The Diamond as Big as The Ritz", "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", "Tarquin of Cheapside", "O Russet Witch!", "The Lees of Happiness", "Mr. Icky", and "Jemina".

Public Domain (P)2012 Trout Lake Media

Great stories, unbearable narration.

It's a pretty...good book if you...can get through...the narrator's ridiculous...pauses. I certainly couldn't. Absolutely atrocious. Giving the overall 3 stars because I couldn't make it through the first story, Jelly Bean. If you have a great deal of patience, go for it. Otherwise, steer clear- the narrative ruins it completely. I like FSF stories and the era so I give that 5 stars. Narrator gets less than zero.

Good stories, narration a little weird

Fitzgerald's text is lively and a fun read. Following the reader along with the book, I was stumped by some of the dramatic (?) pauses made throughout the performance. These unexpected pauses happen so frequently as to be a distraction.

You get what you pay for.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I'm not a big fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald's short fiction so I originally purchased this to help me get through reading a print copy. I did manage to finish both the Penguin Classics paperback edition (which includes both of Fitzgerald's 1st and 2nd short story collections "Flappers and Philosophers" and "Tales of the Jazz Age") and this audiobook edition which includes only the 2nd book.

Has Benjamin Button and Tales of the Jazz Age turned you off from other books in this genre?

I'm still interested to read and/or listen to the rest of F. Scott Fitzgerald for my general reading knowledge, but not with any particular enthusiasm.

What didn’t you like about Alan Munro’s performance?

The performance was quite stiff with very little attempt to give a voice performance. The stories "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "O Russet Witch!" were some of the few exceptions with their minimal efforts at elderly voices. None of the other stories had a very dramatized reading. I noticed that a reference to Oscar Wilde's "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" was pronounced as "The Ballad of Reading Goal" i.e. as in football goal, so obviously no research was done to learn that "gaol" is an antiquated spelling of the word "jail".

Was Benjamin Button and Tales of the Jazz Age worth the listening time?

At $1.95 for the member's price, this is definitely a bargain for a 10+ hour book. You get what you pay for though.

Any additional comments?

I noticed that, compared to the print edition, the sentence "It's very white of you." is censored to say "It's very nice of you." in the "O Russet Witch!" story. That seemed a bit odd in a book where the whole racist Shangri-La story of "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" is included verbatim.

Sorry, but this is the worst narrated audiobook!

What disappointed you about Benjamin Button and Tales of the Jazz Age?

I want my money back after listening to the first two short stories, because this is read as if the narrator is reading it cold, with no prep. There are awkward cadences, as if he's reading to the end of a page, without knowing the next word on the next page. I enjoyed the other Fitzgerald books I have heard on audio, with other readers,and was looking forward to this. I can't believe I paid good money for this!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

It reminded me of the old Benny Hill skit with the bad actor reading his line, " What IS that up-- a HEAD?" It'd be funny if it was an amateur reading, but I expect quality narration from Audible.

Any additional comments?

Please re-record this collection with a professional reader, and send it to me for free, to make up for this experience.