Watership Down

Fantastic!

You already know you love the book; now Peter Capaldi brings it to stunning, unadulterated life.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Capaldi is FANTASTIC; tech editing, not as much

Watership Down has been one of my favorite books since my childhood. I have often sought it out on Audible, but it was only there in foreign languages. Imagine, then, my utter delight when I searched one day and discovered it, unabridged, in English! It was released that very same day in fact, and even better, Peter Capaldi was the narrator! (If you are a Whovian as I am, and one who thoroughly enjoyed Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor as I did, you may have some inkling of my sheer excitement over this discovery. 😁)

Capaldi does an amazing job with the voices of the different characters. I had no idea his voice acting skills were so diverse and well-developed - what a delightful surprise as I listened! I admit, the choice of tone for some (Pipkin and the mouse, for example, though Kehaar was spot-on) were not quite how I always heard them inwardly as I read the book, but they worked, and more importantly, all the character voices were consistent throughout the book. There was great emotion in the telling and made it a riveting story to listen to, which I did with great pleasure.

However, there is one particular technical issue which I could not overlook. I have worked as an audiobook technical editor before, working on long novels of a similar length. I know how time-consuming and detailed this work often can be, so I generally don't get TOO picky, particularly when the narrator does a terrific job, as Capaldi did. The issue I have here is that in at least three separate places (chapter 12, chapter 13 or 14, and again much later somewhere around chapter 23 or so - couldn't see it at that time), the tech editor missed a splice, resulting in a repetition of lines. The listener thus heard Capaldi read the line, then read it again exactly the same a second time. Now, I used to do this in my own editing as a bookmark to ensure I had enough audio to seamlessly blend tracks from separate recording sessions, matching tone, volume, inflection, etc. The trick was to remember to go back to the bookmarks and listen to the entire sequence, removing one of the duplicate crossover lines. It almost sounded to me like someone removed the bookmarks and forgot to check the final edit of tracks. Once, that's an "oopsie" and life goes on. This happened clearly and distinctly on three occasions, however - though I give credit to the tech editor in that even with this, the actual track playback contained no obvious cuts or changes in ambient noise. (Well done!)

Other than that one issue, my only other note would be regarding the use of Lapine terminology without references. In the book, the first use of a Lapine work was often footnoted for the reader with the English translation. This was not done here. Narrating footnotes can be difficult, though I think this could be worked around by including a downloadable supplemental material upon purchase, consisting of a Lapine-English glossary. Many audiobooks I have purchased do similar things with worksheets or diagrams, or even full workbooks, so this would be no challenge that I can see, and it might make it easier for the listener to know right away what/who "Inlé" and then "fu-Inlé" might be, or "silflay" or "hraka" and the like. Contextually, the meaning becomes somewhat understood, but it is not so clear that a word like "embleer" has a more crude meaning than it is generally used in the book (until the end - I do love Bigwig's comment to the General). Not to mention the names of the rabbits, particularly the does. Capaldi speaks them casually and confidently and well, but I know how they are spelled and it rang true. For a first time listener, though, it might almost sound like he spoke with marbles in his mouth. If I recall correctly, one of the copies of this book that I own also has what amounts to a "Cast of Characters" page, listing the rabbits and their originating warrens/locations. That too could be a useful supplemental download, as would the map of where the Down and the Nuthanger and Efrafa were located in relation to each other.

These are merely suggestions intended to aid the new listener who is unfamiliar with this wonderful book. I highly recommend reading the print copy as well. Capaldi did a superb job bringing this story and these characters to life, and I can say with certainty that tech "oopsie" edits and all aside, I will be listening to this more than once in the future. Bravo! Highly recommended to all! ❤️

Excellent book, most excellent narrator!

Listening to an audiobook that 17.5 hours long could be tedious but there's nothing tedious at all when you're listening to a book as excellent as "Watership Down" being read by the most excellent Peter Capaldi.

Mr. Capaldi's voice acting is a treat to listen to, and lends the perfect tone and emotion to this gem of a book. If you couldn't get enough of the irrepressible Kehaar, who Mr. Capaldi brought to life in the Netflix animated series, this audiobook will definitely satisfy and entertain you, as he gives voice to the narrator and all of the characters!

Let's hope Mr. Capaldi reads us more audiobooks to love and enjoy.

excellent and classic

An excellent performance by Peter Capaldi of a lovely and classic story that tickles the fancy and imagination.