AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The Folded World
Title: The Folded World
Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Audiobook Narrator: Ralph Lister
Series: A Dirge for Prester John
Prester John has ruled as king of Pentexore for a few years now, spending much of his time trying to reconcile his religious views with the wonders that exist around him. Then he finds himself summoned to Constantinople, where the patriarch has called for his help in a holy war against Islam. John agrees, and brings half the population of Pentexore as his army. But for Hagia and the other citizens of Pentexore, it has been so long since they have seen true war. Now, it is nothing more than a game, and they are completely unprepared for the consequences that await them.
The Folded World is the second book in Catherynne M. Valente's Dirge for Prester John Series. Once more drawing inspiration from medieval Christianity, The Folded World is an imaginative tale filled with wondrous characters, both lovable and strange. Like Habitation of the Blessed, The Folded World is divided into four parts. One of these sections is narrated by Hagia alongside John's warlike daughter Anglitora. A second storyline focuses on the meaning of love, and John's conflicted second daughter, Sepharlet. (I apologize if I misspell any of these names, I listened to the audio version). A third storyline shows us another John, John Mandeville, and his adventures. These are tied together by a frame story centering around one of the translators of these three fantastic texts,
In all honesty, I didn't connect to The Folded World as well as I did with The Habitation of the Blessed. There were times when I found the book to be incredibly beautiful, but I also found that I greatly preferred some narrators over others. My favorite parts would have to be the main story, involving Anglorita and Hagia as they ride off to war. I found the innocence of the Pentexorens to be quite fascinating. They are such old and wise people, yet the concept of war is something so foreign to them. I also enjoyed Sepharlet's story, and found her a character that it was very easy to feel sympathy for. The story lines that worked less for me was the frame story, and John Mandeville's tale. John's story in particular was so rambling that I found it very hard to concentrate on it. I even found myself nodding off while listening to it once (admittedly, this was right before bedtime). This is interesting, because Valente's stories have always had a bit of a rambling quality to them, and I usually don't mind getting lost in them. This is one situation where it just didn't work for me.
Thoughts on the Audiobook: Like Habitation of the Blessed, The Folded World is narrated by Ralph Lister and he does a rather good job at narration. At the same time, I'm not sure if this is the best book for the audio format. The chapters involving Hagia and Anglitora are actually a conversation between the two women, and it was hard to keep track of who was speaking at what times. Also, there is a part in John's chapters that is a question and answer section. The problem here is you get a giant list of questions, followed by a giant list of answers. It doesn't take too long before you forget what questions John is answering.
Final Thoughts: I feel a little guilty giving The Folded World such a low raiting because in truth, I still think it's a decent book. The writing is strong, the world building imaginative, and the characters complex. At the same time, out of the four storylines found in this book, I only really connected with two of them, and quite struggled with the other two. Regardless of this, do I plan on finishing up the series once book three, The Spindle of Necessity, is published. Three Stars.
Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Audiobook Narrator: Ralph Lister
Series: A Dirge for Prester John
Prester John has ruled as king of Pentexore for a few years now, spending much of his time trying to reconcile his religious views with the wonders that exist around him. Then he finds himself summoned to Constantinople, where the patriarch has called for his help in a holy war against Islam. John agrees, and brings half the population of Pentexore as his army. But for Hagia and the other citizens of Pentexore, it has been so long since they have seen true war. Now, it is nothing more than a game, and they are completely unprepared for the consequences that await them.
The Folded World is the second book in Catherynne M. Valente's Dirge for Prester John Series. Once more drawing inspiration from medieval Christianity, The Folded World is an imaginative tale filled with wondrous characters, both lovable and strange. Like Habitation of the Blessed, The Folded World is divided into four parts. One of these sections is narrated by Hagia alongside John's warlike daughter Anglitora. A second storyline focuses on the meaning of love, and John's conflicted second daughter, Sepharlet. (I apologize if I misspell any of these names, I listened to the audio version). A third storyline shows us another John, John Mandeville, and his adventures. These are tied together by a frame story centering around one of the translators of these three fantastic texts,
In all honesty, I didn't connect to The Folded World as well as I did with The Habitation of the Blessed. There were times when I found the book to be incredibly beautiful, but I also found that I greatly preferred some narrators over others. My favorite parts would have to be the main story, involving Anglorita and Hagia as they ride off to war. I found the innocence of the Pentexorens to be quite fascinating. They are such old and wise people, yet the concept of war is something so foreign to them. I also enjoyed Sepharlet's story, and found her a character that it was very easy to feel sympathy for. The story lines that worked less for me was the frame story, and John Mandeville's tale. John's story in particular was so rambling that I found it very hard to concentrate on it. I even found myself nodding off while listening to it once (admittedly, this was right before bedtime). This is interesting, because Valente's stories have always had a bit of a rambling quality to them, and I usually don't mind getting lost in them. This is one situation where it just didn't work for me.
Thoughts on the Audiobook: Like Habitation of the Blessed, The Folded World is narrated by Ralph Lister and he does a rather good job at narration. At the same time, I'm not sure if this is the best book for the audio format. The chapters involving Hagia and Anglitora are actually a conversation between the two women, and it was hard to keep track of who was speaking at what times. Also, there is a part in John's chapters that is a question and answer section. The problem here is you get a giant list of questions, followed by a giant list of answers. It doesn't take too long before you forget what questions John is answering.
Final Thoughts: I feel a little guilty giving The Folded World such a low raiting because in truth, I still think it's a decent book. The writing is strong, the world building imaginative, and the characters complex. At the same time, out of the four storylines found in this book, I only really connected with two of them, and quite struggled with the other two. Regardless of this, do I plan on finishing up the series once book three, The Spindle of Necessity, is published. Three Stars.