AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Ha’penny
Title: Ha’penny
Author: Jo Walton
Narrator: John Keating and Heather O’Neill
Series: Small Change (Book Two)
The following review has spoilers for Farthing, the first book in the Small Change trilogy. There are no real spoilers for Ha’Penny
The year is 1949 and the setting is London, but it is not the London of 1949 that we are familiar with. This is because eight years previous, Great Britain made peace with Nazi Germany as a way to cease their involvement in World War II. Most people claim to be happy with this peace, but there’s no denying that something’s rotten in England. At the beginning of Ha’Penny we encounter two narrators: one new (theater actress Viola Lark) and one old (Inspector Carmichael, last seen in Farthing). Both want little more than to live their lives in peace, but will soon find themselves standing on opposite sides of a case that begins with death, and ends with terrorism.
Ha’Penny is the second book in Jo Walton’s alternate history series, Small Change. Much like Farthing, Ha'penny begins with a mysterious death, but while Farthing read much like a cozy mystery, Ha’Penny feels more like a tightly written thriller. I think what struck me the most about Ha’penny was the fact that it was so complex for such a little book. The two protagonists we meet here are wonderfully likable, but both of them make poor decisions, some quite major. I enjoyed getting to follow around Inspector Carmichael once more, and seeing how he deals with the crippling guilt that has resulted from scapegoating David Kahn at the end of Farthing. Carmichael is a very complex character, one who desires to do good, but is constantly manipulated by higher powers to support their dark ways.The romantic storyline with Jack is the one bright spot of happiness in this rather tense book, but even that is tainted by the blackmail held over Carmichael by the new Prime Minister.
Our other protagonist is Viola Lark who’s journey is, if anything, even more complex. I find it interesting that when we first meet Viola she is accepting the role of a female Hamlet (a version of the Shakespeare play that I would love to see!), because in many ways her emotional journey mirrors that of Hamlet. She enters the story with a dark deed to commit by the books end, but is filled with constant confusion and doubt. Also, much like Hamlet, there is the question of madness. She asks the audience at one point if there was any way someone could grow up as she did and be completely sane. And although her thought process may seem completely rational, she does make some rather strange decisions that left me scratching my head. I’m not saying that reading Hamlet is a necessity to enjoying Ha’penny, but it was interesting to pick up on the parallels between the two. Viola also has a romantic storyline, but unlike Carmichael’s her’s is not sweet but love mixed with hate, which was an interesting contrast.
Thoughts on the Audiobook: The audiobook for Farthing was top notch and the same can be said for Ha’penny. John Keating returns to voice the Carmichael chapters and Heather O’Neill steps in for Viola. Both of them do a great job of crafting a variety of voices, even to the point when there are times that you forget that it’s not a full cast production. The audio format is really the best way to experience this series.
Final Thoughts: For being such a short book, Ha’Penny is certainly a complex one, filled with fantastic and flawed characters, and a tense and exciting plot. Although we only saw the start of the results of The Farthing Peace in Farthing, in Ha’Penny, the reader really begins to see the consequences one small change really can have. I am planning on completing the series with Half a Crown. Four and a Half Stars
Next I will be reviewing Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
Author: Jo Walton
Narrator: John Keating and Heather O’Neill
Series: Small Change (Book Two)
The following review has spoilers for Farthing, the first book in the Small Change trilogy. There are no real spoilers for Ha’Penny
The year is 1949 and the setting is London, but it is not the London of 1949 that we are familiar with. This is because eight years previous, Great Britain made peace with Nazi Germany as a way to cease their involvement in World War II. Most people claim to be happy with this peace, but there’s no denying that something’s rotten in England. At the beginning of Ha’Penny we encounter two narrators: one new (theater actress Viola Lark) and one old (Inspector Carmichael, last seen in Farthing). Both want little more than to live their lives in peace, but will soon find themselves standing on opposite sides of a case that begins with death, and ends with terrorism.
Ha’Penny is the second book in Jo Walton’s alternate history series, Small Change. Much like Farthing, Ha'penny begins with a mysterious death, but while Farthing read much like a cozy mystery, Ha’Penny feels more like a tightly written thriller. I think what struck me the most about Ha’penny was the fact that it was so complex for such a little book. The two protagonists we meet here are wonderfully likable, but both of them make poor decisions, some quite major. I enjoyed getting to follow around Inspector Carmichael once more, and seeing how he deals with the crippling guilt that has resulted from scapegoating David Kahn at the end of Farthing. Carmichael is a very complex character, one who desires to do good, but is constantly manipulated by higher powers to support their dark ways.The romantic storyline with Jack is the one bright spot of happiness in this rather tense book, but even that is tainted by the blackmail held over Carmichael by the new Prime Minister.
Our other protagonist is Viola Lark who’s journey is, if anything, even more complex. I find it interesting that when we first meet Viola she is accepting the role of a female Hamlet (a version of the Shakespeare play that I would love to see!), because in many ways her emotional journey mirrors that of Hamlet. She enters the story with a dark deed to commit by the books end, but is filled with constant confusion and doubt. Also, much like Hamlet, there is the question of madness. She asks the audience at one point if there was any way someone could grow up as she did and be completely sane. And although her thought process may seem completely rational, she does make some rather strange decisions that left me scratching my head. I’m not saying that reading Hamlet is a necessity to enjoying Ha’penny, but it was interesting to pick up on the parallels between the two. Viola also has a romantic storyline, but unlike Carmichael’s her’s is not sweet but love mixed with hate, which was an interesting contrast.
Thoughts on the Audiobook: The audiobook for Farthing was top notch and the same can be said for Ha’penny. John Keating returns to voice the Carmichael chapters and Heather O’Neill steps in for Viola. Both of them do a great job of crafting a variety of voices, even to the point when there are times that you forget that it’s not a full cast production. The audio format is really the best way to experience this series.
Final Thoughts: For being such a short book, Ha’Penny is certainly a complex one, filled with fantastic and flawed characters, and a tense and exciting plot. Although we only saw the start of the results of The Farthing Peace in Farthing, in Ha’Penny, the reader really begins to see the consequences one small change really can have. I am planning on completing the series with Half a Crown. Four and a Half Stars
Next I will be reviewing Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood