Delicious Narration

I loved this book -- the positive reviews are warranted. This is one of those books that falls into the category of "must listen to instead of reading" where I feel listening enhances the experience to the max. The narration was superb and the tone of Alex and Lena’s voices -- so real and appealing. The concept is slightly dystopian, where love is not allowed in America (strictly enforced), which caught my attention. The storyline is not predictable, as it could easily be.....I thought I knew where it was headed, but I'd be proven wrong every time. Although a YA book -- definitely would appeal to those of ALL ages -- especially women --but I think boys and girls would enjoy it equally. What a great listen !

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52 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Excellent narration

My colleague Emily recommended Delirium to me - it was one of her picks for the Best of 2011, and she raves about the book at every opportunity. While I didn't love the book as much as she does, I did find it entertaining. I was impressed with the concept - that love is a disease that everyone needs to be cured of - but found myself growing a bit impatient with our heroine, Lena, who took a little too long to put together that the government's restrictions were not in her best interest. And while the pace picked up in the last hour or so, which was exciting, it also accelerated Lena's transition from a young, naive girl to a mature enemy of the government in a forced way.

Despite these criticisms, I did enjoy the book - and, more importantly, I loved Sarah Drew's performance. She was able to channel all the different nuances of this full cast, and was especially chilling as Lena's already cured sister. Drew's performance alone might get me to check out the rest of this trilogy...

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47 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

You have to LISTEN to this one!

I'm an adult who is a sucker for ya dystopian fiction, and this one has become one of my favs. To be honest, I'm not certain I would have enjoyed reading it as much as I loved listening to it. The narrator is wonderful - she brings Oliver's wonderfully descriptive prose to life. Can't wait for the next book!

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29 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Wonderful narration, so romantic

Who would have thought that this 62 year old geezah could enjoy YA novels? Turns out, I do. I ripped right through The Hunger Games and bought this one on a whim and the numerous good reviews.

The narrator just about took my breath away, what a wonderful talent. I don't know how old the reader is, but she sure sounds to my addled old head like a teenager ought.

There are sections in the second half, where the two lovers are recognizing the pace and power of their passion and melted me right away. Never heard Browning or Cummings quite like that, beautiful.

The pace tears along a bout de souffle.

I purchased the second part of what I believe to be a trilogy immediately upon finishing the first.

A cracking read, and a wonderful narrator.


brendan

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27 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Engaging story, entertaining narration

While a young adult novel, it certainly has plenty of questions to ponder for adults. I think the author did a wonderful job capturing the angst and emotionality of first love as did the narrator. I considered using it for a book club choice because I thought the discussions would have been quite interesting.

Other reviewers felt it may be too similar to other current popular YA fiction. I think good vs evil, adult vs teen, rebellion, governmental control, etc have always been themes seen in novels and the author does a great job of putting those to use in unique ways.

I wouldnt hesitate to listen to another of her books regardless of subject.

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25 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Wonderful

I became a fan of Lauren Oliver with her last book Before I Fall. She provides a new perspective on time honored themes. If you enjoyed Before I Fall, I would recommend spending a credit on this book. It is well written and narrated. This is not a romance novel in my opinion, but more a commentary on the power of society and the things that can happen when we grant
our leaders too much authority. It illustrates how we can lose what is really important. It has a similar feel to Unwind by Neal Shusterman or Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. It could even be compared to Suzanne Collins Mockinjay series--though it is not action packed as that series but does make a similar statement about society. It is Lauren Oliver's twist on what could have happened had our society proceeded with the 'frontal lobotomy' mentality we once had.

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MEH.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

So I agree with several reviewers - I don't really like Lena. Its hard for me to recommend a book where I can't get behind the heroine. There are some interesting moments, but the book is SLOW, painfully slow for those of us who are not buying the chemistry between Alex and Lena. I can't get into those quotes/thoughts/speeches about love, especially when the reader's voice impression of Alex, reminds me of Pauly Shore.You wont be TOTALLY disappointed, you will just be MEH. Then you will have to decide if the cliffhanger is enough to get you to use a credit on Pandemonium. I

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Don't listen to the Hype

What would have made Delirium better?

What wouldn't have made it better?

What was most disappointing about Lauren Oliver’s story?

The lack of intelligent writing! There were a lot of intelligent words, but NO intelligent writing!

Would you be willing to try another one of Sarah Drew’s performances?

No!

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Delirium?

The only scenes I would not cut would be the ones with Grace... her character had potential, but was never developed.

Any additional comments?

I am not a hard sell and generally enjoy every book I listen to on Audible, but this book was terrible. The narrator's voice was annoying after the first hour and the book was for, at best, high schoolers. I was so frustrated that every review raved about this book and I wasted my credit on this sci-fi teeny bopper romance.

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13 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

I can not begin to express how much I LOVED this book. It is so beautifully written and just completely enthralling. It's been a long time since I've been so emotionally touched by a book. Lauren Oliver's writing is more poetic then prose and it absolutely took my breath away!
As far as dystopian world building it isn't the best, but this is so well written it didn't really matter. This one left me wanting more and I can not wait to continue on to book 2 and 3.
Sarah Drew's performance is brilliant and complete perfection.
I wish I could give this one 6 Stars! Worth a credit and then some.

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Unexpectedly Loved It

For I while I’ve wondered about why so many people loved Delirium. It didn’t particularly appeal to me and the description never sounded that interesting. I finally caved and had to see for myself what exactly everyone was talking about. Shortly into the book, I understood. It’s not the quite the story that’s amazing but it’s the writing. It’s beautiful and so remarkably well crafted that I can hear English teachers and librarians across the country giving thanks to Lauren Oliver for writing a young adult novel of this caliber. I seriously think the writing in this novel should be studied.

In a nutshell, love is illegal in Oliver’s dystopian society. Love, also known as delirium, is considered a disease and all citizens must undergo surgery to cure them for the delirium by the age of 18. Lena, the main character, is almost 18 and is looking forward to the day she is cured. The argument against love is that it is the cause of many of the worlds problems. “It kills you both when you have it and when you don’t.” Rebels are imprisoned, killed, and beaten by the enforcers of the law. It’s hard to imagine our society ever banning love but Oliver makes her world is believable and surprisingly realistic. Even as I describe this book I don’t feel like I’m doing it much justice. I assure you there is more to Delirium than what I’ve described.

One of the things I enjoyed about Delirium was the way the author describes love. Yes it is a book about love, but Oliver clearly paints the positives and negative sides. She describes both sides so well that you root for the rebels and understand why love is banned and law is so forcefully upheld. For most of the book, Lena, is just discovering love. She is happy when she is with Alex, constantly smiling and laughing; and when she is away she feels the pain of missing him. Their secret love keeps them living in fear of being discovered. As Lena treads deeper into love, she begins to see the flaws in her society and how meaningless life is without love. People who have been cured seem to be without a soul and the society Lena once found comfort in, becomes a future she cannot bear without Alex.

Sarah Drew also delivered a fabulous performance. I had to get used to her voice at first but shortly into the book it became hard to stop listening to.

Overall, I finally see what everyone is talking about it. It’s a wonderful yet painful love story. You could say the Delirium has taken over me and now that it’s over it hurts. Upon finishing Delirium, I immediately bought the second book in the series and 20 minutes later I listening to Pandemonium. It ends on such a cliffhanger that I couldn’t wait to find what happened next.

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11 les gens ont trouvé cela utile