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TELLING THE BEES
Peggy Hesketh, Read by Norman Dietz • Unabridged • JUNE 2013 Tantor Media • Trade Ed. Tantor Media • Library Ed. Like fine music that starts softly, then adds layers of intensity until a moving crescendo is reached, Hesketh's remarkable story increases its intrigue and complexity as it builds toward a memorable finish. Norman Dietz is pitch-perfect. Dietz's style is an ideal match for this quietly powerful story. Listeners will be left wanting more. AudioFile, 2013 M.O.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile Magazine 2013, Portland, Maine SELECTED AUDIO REVIEW EXCERPTS
HEADING OUT TO WONDERFUL Robert Goolrick A drifter arrives in the sleepy town of Brownsburg, Va. . .Dietz’s calm style. . .creating the feeling that something bad is going to happen. The listener, lulled by Dietz’s tender voice, will feel the horror of the climax as strongly as. . .the people of Brownsburg. AudioFile, May 2012 THE NOTORIOUS JUMPING FROG OF CALAVERAS COUNTY AND OTHER STORIES Mark Twain Dietz does not disappoint in this comical and oftentimes poignant collection. He’s as comfortable delivering the rustic speech of Jim Smiley, the notorious bettor who gets hoodwinked in the title story, as he is portraying an exasperated Adam as he copes with Eve in the Garden of Eden in “The Diaries of Adam and Eve.” There’s a deadpan quality to Dietz’s comedic delivery that adds to the humor. AudioFile, May 2012 J.D. SALINGER: A LIFE Kenneth Slawenski Norman Dietz's reading voice proves perfect. His tone is warm and soothing, as if he is a grandfather sharing stories about his late best friend whom he adored and hopes the world will, too. Publishers Weekly, July 2011 TOUCH AND GO Studs Terkel Reader Norman Dietz doesn’t try to emulate the author. He becomes him. Only listeners well acquainted with the author will ever guess it’s not Terkel doing the reading. Dietz interprets [Terkel’s] stories with the conversational tone of a polished raconteur. Hard to find a natural place to turn off the book. Some problem, huh? Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, Apr/May 2008 In a match made in heaven, one of the world's great raconteurs. . .turns to one of the most recognizable voices in audiobooks to read it. Norman Dietz takes delight in each word, rolling them over his tongue as if the memories were his own and the pleasure personal. Publishers Weekly, January 2008 TIMEQUAKE Kurt Vonnegut Norman Dietz perfectly captures the codgerly, sardonic grouchiness that pervades the narrative. Further, his intelligence makes him able to play the underlying ideas and to to imbue them with unity; whereas a less mature narrator would falter and flail. His seasoned voice and flawless understanding of his text convey the impression that the author himself is speaking. This is a perfect coupling of writer and actor. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, May 1998 YOUNGER NEXT YEAR FOR WOMEN:Turn Back Your Biological Clock Chris Crowley, Henry S. Lodge Dietz portrays…a 70-something retired lawyer who bikes, hikes, skis, and flirts with the ladies. [His] stories will leave you alternately laughing and crying. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, Oct/Nov 2006 JAMES MADISON Richard Brookhiser Admiration for Madison comes through in Norman Dietz's reading. It's never dramatic, but Dietz’s engagement keeps listeners' interest, even when the details of political wrangling might otherwise be tedious. It's a fascinating take on Madison's career. AudioFile, March/April 2012 SPEAK LIKE CHURCHILL, STAND LIKE LINCOLN James C. Humes Listening to this book is a little like sitting on an airplane next to a retired president of Toastmasters. Narrator Norman Dietz does an excellent job of conveying Humes’s passion and wisdom. You almost feel the author grabbing your lapel. AudioFile, June/July 2011 THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN Mark Twain A very sympathetic and believable Huckleberry. Norman Dietz's professional performance offers us interpretive substance through his credible and kind Huckleberry. AudioFile, June 1992 I have just finished listening to Huck Finn, a novel I've read probably twenty times during my English major, dissertation, and teaching careers. Yet Norman Dietz's remarkable narrating revealed things about Huck Finn that caused me to think about it differently than before. The ALAN Review, Virginia Tech THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER Mark Twain Dietz manages to evoke a huge cast of believable characters with his impressively versatile voice and, perhaps most importantly, seamlessly embeds them in the fabric of Twain’s narrative, which he reads magnificently. The narrative voice of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is not easy to convey. Yet Dietz does so, and sounds utterly enthusiastic about it all the while. Sobriquet, May 23, 2005 A MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY Kurt Vonnegut Norman Dietz does a reading that channels the 82-year-old Vonnegut. He GETS all the sarcasm, never misses a salvo, and brings clarity and wit to each of Vonnegut's assertions and anecdotes. AudioFile, Apr/ May 2006 The print edition might suffice for most libraries; however, narrator Norman Dietz adds a nearly perfect sardonic tone that makes this audio worth listening to for its own sake. Recommended. Library Journal, Mar 15, 2006 NAILING IT:The Sound of Distant Hammering in the Attic of My Brain Norman Dietz So delightful, I can't decide whether to laugh or cry. Part fiction, part memoir…If you like the homespun humor of Mark Twain and Garrison Keillor, you'll love Dietz… [He] has narrated nearly a dozen Mark Twain titles, and I'm betting he learned much from the master. The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2006 Dietz's narration is heartfelt and hilarious. He writes sometimes in big rolling sentences, rich with metaphors, and his performance is like a literary joy ride. The Miami Herald, 2006 Like having a storyteller in your living room. Ebullient, occasionally poignant, and dryly humorous…Dietz manages to convey many things through his performance, but it is mostly a sense of warmth and bemusement that carries us to a poignant ending likely to bring on a tear or two. The Boston Globe, Feb 12, 2006 Reminiscent of Garrison Keillor in his folksiness, Dietz has a tone and delivery that are all his own. Audiobook News Service, Fall/Winter 2006 PEELING THE ONION: A Memoir Günter Grass Dietz reads with smooth efficiency and understated authority. His voice untouched by masculine bluster, Dietz has a pleasingly idiosyncratic tone, more favorite uncle than television announcer. Dietz is a name that offers the assurance of skill without grandstanding. Publishers Weekly, October 2007 WALKING ACROSS EGYPT Clyde Edgerton Even funnier and more touching this second time around than it was when I first read it in the late eighties. I opted for the excellently “performed” audio version of the book this time. Norman Dietz, the book’s reader, created such a perfect voice and delivery for Mattie Rigsbee, the story’s 78-year-old main character, that he had me laughing out loud at Clyde Edgerton’s dialogue on a regular basis. Book Chase, Jan 29, 2008 TOUCH Alexi Zentner “Oral storytelling is part of who we are as humans, and audiobooks can help to make a story come even more alive. Hell, between writing the thing and revising, I’ve read ‘Touch’ more times than I can count, and still, listening to Norman read it, the book was new to me…Norman did a fantastic job… as I listened to ‘Touch,’ it was both incredibly familiar—the way it ought to be—and something new and thrilling.” --Alexi Zentner, the author NEVER SNIFF A GIFT FISH Patrick McManus Norman Dietz does a superb job reading these very funny stories. His vocal range is impressive, and he takes every opportunity to prolong the fun while hitting the mark on every joke. Dietz has a large repertoire of characters at his disposal, and he uses it most effectively. AudioFile, Aug/Sep 2002 REAL PONIES DON'T GO OINK Patrick F. McManus Not having studied the cover with enough care, [I] thought that McManus himself was reading. Here, thought I to myself, is one of those times when the author's own voice is just perfect for the text! Well, now we know that it was Norman Dietz who was so purely right, so warmly and expressively perfect. He captures crotchety characters and young laddies and everybody else--yes, even the author himself. AudioFile, Dec 2003/Jan 2004 THE GOOD SAMARITAN STRIKES AGAIN Patrick F. McManus Any mention of narrator Norman Dietz brings a smile of anticipation to one's face, and here he does not disappoint…His medley of jocular voices engenders the merriment and frivolity the author intends. AudioFile, Aug/Sep 2000 THE NIGHT THE BEAR ATE GOOMBAW Patrick F. McManus Dietz's expressive buffoonery creates images that generate snickers and laughter. He is adept at elongating or accentuating specific words with an emphasis that entertains. From the initial episode to the final tale, I had a grin on my face. AudioFile, Mar/Apr 1998 BLOODY SEASON Loren D. Estleman Norman Dietz reads this realistic, myth-busting Western with dramatic flair. He sounds like an Old West cowboy character; his voice is gravelly and terse. He makes the story so real one can smell the blood and sweat. AudioFile, Apr/May 2001 DARK STAR SAFARI Paul Theroux Norman Dietz reads with the voice of a sharp-tongued and sharp-minded curmudgeon, often giving the impression that Theroux himself is relating his journeys. AudioFile, Dec 2004/Jan 2005 LINCOLN David Herbert Donald A cracker-barrel reading by Norman Dietz. He conjures up images of an old Springfield lawyer regaling visitors with recollections of a distinguished acquaintance. Throughout this tome he remains expressive, focused, and folksy. AudioFile, Dec 2006/Jan 2007 |