Some Tame Gazelle

A Novel

By: Barbara Pym

Narrated by: Mary Sarah

Belinda and Harriet Bede live together in a small English village. Shy, sensible Belinda has been secretly in love with Henry Hoccleve - the poetry-spouting, married archdeacon of their church - for 30 years. Belinda's much more confident, forthright younger sister Harriet, meanwhile, is ardently pursued by Count Ricardo Bianco. Although she has turned down every marriageable man who proposes, Harriet still welcomes any new curate with dinner parties and flirtatious conversation. And one of the newest arrivals, the reverend Edgar Donne, has everyone talking.

A warm, affectionate depiction of a postwar English village, Some Tame Gazelle perfectly captures the quotidian details that make up everyday life. With its vibrant supporting cast, it's also a poignant story of unrequited love.

©1950, 1983 Barbara Pym (P)2020 Tantor

Narrator is distracting

Barbara Pym is my favorite author. It’s a pity the narration isn’t better. The reader has a rather affected style, and what accent she is using seems to change at times, sounding rather Irish at times. At least, to my ears. Also, the editing is poor. There are a few repeated or wrongly read phrases. I’m very familiar with the book, so it’s annoying. I gave a good rating overall, because I love the story.

Reading Far Too Fast!

I am so disappointed. I have read and enjoyed Pym for years. The speed of the narrator too fast. Words are lost in almost every sentence. The beauty of the writing is obscured or lost. Please slow down and relish the words and meaning.

Big fan of Barbara Pym

I have read all of Barbara Pym’s novels ant this one is a favorite. This reader almost ruined it for me, however. She is SO affected and her breathless, fainting away reading made me want to stop listening. I will avoid any more books read by her.

Please do not use this narrator for any further Audible Barbara Pym books!

Barbara Pym’s books are wonderful, but Mary Sarah’s narrations are almost unbearable. Please find a better narrator for future recordings.

Narrator ruins it

This narrator is American, and ruins what should be a wonderful Barbara Pym novel by speaking with a very strange accent. Mary Sarah should stick to American fiction.

Did anyone listen to this reader before publication?

Truly dreadful narrator. I felt like throwing my phone against the wall with this it was so annoying. I am not sure what accent she was aiming for but was not British. Her destruction of A was horrible and example was Back became Bach. She has this annoying lilt at the end of her sentences. The worse narrator I have ever endured in Audible. Like poison in one’s ear.

TERRIBLE READING / NARRATION

I am an audio book addict and a Pym devotee. Of all the years and all the audio books, I can't recall such a mismatched, poor reader in all of my experience. This has got to be the VERY WORST rendition by someone who is tone deaf to Pym's gentle irony and perfect comic timing. Even in a desperate moment I find Mary Sarah's reading of Some Tame Gazelle, probably my favorite Pym novel, utterly unlistenable. Her weird breathy whispers and strange inflection ruin the style and atmosphere of Pym's writing. Having just finished a MAGNIFICENT READING BY JAYNE ENTWISTLE I was completely caught off guard and tragically disappointed. Why has Mary Sarah been commissioned to ruin so many Pym audio books and Jayne Entwistle has only been given Excellent Women to read??? SOS.

Great Book. Horrible Reading.

I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym and was delighted to see more of her books brought to Audible. However, and this is a HUGE however, Mary Sarah's reading made the book unlistenable. Her voice is too breathy, she speaks too fast in many places, and rushes the end of her sentences. While Ms Sarah may have read other books with more clarity (perhaps without the affected accent), her enunciation here is lazy and sophmoric. Much to my disappointment I had to return the title.

A masterpiece destroyed by a terrible reader.

The narrator has the most irritating phony English accent and affected delivery ever heard. A crime!

enjoyable

While I enjoy the Barbara Pym books very much,the narration was awful,and does not do justice to the story.