January 2006--Volume IV, Issue 1
Audio Confessions In Which Ingram's Alethea Kontis Gives a Rare, Rave Review of Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys (HarperCollins Audio)

1) It was an audiobook. You would think a voracious reader such as myself would jump at this chance to lessen the number of books in her To Be Read pile, but I'm just not a fan of audiobooks. I have enjoyed the odd audio, but it's got to be pretty spectacularly done. I tend to stick to Full Cast Audio productions and other children's and YA titles that are short, sweet, have a huge cast of voice characters and are specifically designed for the ADD generation. My favorite audios to date are: the Grammy award-winning Harry Potter series (duh), Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate (now long out of print), and anything by David Sedaris (because…come on…it's David Sedaris). Ultimately, I think the main reason I never caught the audiobug is that I've been spoiled by my Dad. Just like William Bloom in Big Fish, I am a writer with a storyteller for a father. A real storyteller. In my humble opinion, if you're going to tell a story, tell the story. Most books are written to be read, not told. Scoff if you will--like the Aquafina vs. Dasani snobs, those of us who come from backgrounds rich in oral history can tell the difference.

2) It wasn't just an audiobook, it was an MP3 audiobook. Its mere existence rubbed salt in the fresh wound caused by the death of my beloved iPod mini just that weekend. I had no idea how to play the silly thing otherwise. Call me an old-fashioned twenty-something. There was no cassette I could listen to in my car, or CD I could stick in the stereo at home. I would have to listen to it on the computer at work. Which would have been much easier if there was some related executable file on the disc to link the MP3s and play them in order. Luckily, I have iTunes at work, so I just imported it in chunks. (Just because I'm old fashioned doesn't make me any less intelligent.)

3) It wasn't read by Neil Gaiman. Not only is Neil one of the most talented writers of our generation, but he's got this melodious voice that smacks a bit of the divine David Bowie. Yes I'm a total fan girl, but just try out the Neil Gaiman Audio Collection or Coraline. You'll see what I mean. I flipped over Anansi Boys and saw that the reader was some guy named Lenny Henry. I read his bio and didn't recognize his credits. He was a friend of Neil's, though, and a fan as well, so he had that going for him. I hoped to God he was at least British.

My expectations for this audiobook were so low as to be nonexistent--which is probably the reason my experience of listening to Anansi Boys was such an overwhelmingly satisfying event. Lenny Henry is indeed British. As for his abilities…well, the man is an impressionist, storytelling genius. I just can't say enough. I looked him up online (www.lennyhenry.com) and was very pleased to note his involvement in more than a few of Neil's projects.

I had already read Anansi Boys--I was one of the privileged few to get my hands on one of the much-coveted galleys of the book before I interviewed The Author Himself. [sigh] I knew the story was light and interesting and funny. I knew Neil had written it to be funny because he told me so himself. And I remember laughing out loud while I was reading the book…but not as often as I burst into guffaws at my desk while listening. Coworkers stopped by to see what was so funny. Before I had finished half the book, I had already promised the audio to three other people.

One of Neil's Dirty Little Secrets that I discovered during my interview with him was that of all the universes of media he had played around in--comics and novels and movies and children's books and and and--he loved doing radio plays best of all. Halfway into listening to Anansi Boys, I realized why. Neil Gaiman is not just an author. He is a storyteller. And boy, does he know how to tell a story.

As you listen to Lenny Henry tell you the story of Fat Charlie and his estranged brother Spider (who Lenny performs in a voice reminiscent of Danny John-Jules's character of Cat in the Red Dwarf television series), you realize how complicated this deceptively short novel is. You notice how many voices Neil uses--not just in the dialogue, but in the narration of the story itself. Sometimes I had to stop and think, I know I read that, but how did he write it? I mean, really…how did he spell that? What punctuation did he use to produce just such an effect? There are so many layers upon layers intricately and brilliantly woven into this book. And when you step back you realize the irony of it all is that this is a story told by a storyteller about a storyteller. For, as everyone knows, all the stories are Anansi's stories.

To the best of my knowledge I have never recommended what I am about to recommend to you: if time or budget permits you to choose only one method of reading Anansi Boys…pick up the audio. It really is the only way to experience it.