Gone Girl Audio

[Alpha_Betty]

I listened to Gone Girl as an audiobook, and I found myself wishing I'd read it from the page instead. It's not that the readers weren't talented, but their voices seemed completely mismatched to the characters. Julia Whelen, who reads Amy, often voices teen girl characters on audiobooks, so I couldn't get the image of her as a 16-year-old out of my head while listening. And Kirby Heyborne, who voiced Nick, sounds uncannily like David Sedaris! Even so, I enjoyed Gone Girl and found it so well-written that I could hang in there for the unlikely plot twists. This hasn't been the case for the spate of books billed by online sellers as "the next Gone Girl". The Girl on the Train, The Girl with a Clock for a Heart--basically any book with "Girl" in the title. Flynn's focus on character and sharp observation of details put her books (I'm thinking of Dark Places here, too) on a completely different level.

[Scerakor]

It's too bad that you felt that way about it; I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook version (but admittedly cannot say that I have read the text version as well.) Maybe I haven't listened to enough of those specific narrators to have the conflict of character as you have. Either way, I thought it was well done.

[Naval Aulakh]

I don't really prefer audios because sometimes I feel sleepy and miss a few things. I prefer reading a printed book instead.

[Mallory Whitaker]

I listened to this on audiobook the first time around. I loved it! I don't do audiobooks much so I'd never heard them read anything else. I thought they were perfect. Although, her male voices were pretty comical/bad.

[Riptidemom8]

I listened to the audio and loved it. However I can see where you are coming from.

[jaylperry]

There have been several times when I've felt that audiobook readers were mismatched to their characters. I don't specifically recall that in Gone Girl, but I certainly understand how it detracts from the enjoyment of a particular book.

[holsam_87]

It's too bad that you felt that way about it; I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook version (but admittedly cannot say that I have read the text version as well.) Maybe I haven't listened to enough of those specific narrators to have the conflict of character as you have. Either way, I thought it was well done.

I also enjoyed the audio version. It felt like the story was more authentic because of a male and female narrator being used. They gave a lot of emotion to the characters and made it a lot more interesting to me.

[AmySmiles]

I often don't enjoy audio books because the narrators voice annoys me. I guess I just prefer to read the book myself.

[sush_destiny]

Not a big fan of audiobooks. Makes me really drowsy. I prefer reading a print or digital copy.

[dorebri2020]

I always prefer a print copy over audio because I will most likely fall asleep by just listening. Especially when it comes to books like these, where there is so much drama and tension, I want to feel exactly what the characters are feeling, not have it read to me in an emotion I may not agree with.

[rumik]

I don't really listen to audiobooks, though I do enjoy podcasts. Shame about the Gone Girl audiobook.

[Atara Miles]

I can't get myself immersed in audiobooks unless it's narrated by a superb narrator who's features and history are completely unknown to me. I generally go the way of ebooks and paperbacks when I'm reading a novel. In the case of narrators, I'll first listen to a sample and judge if I like the method of storytelling - I do no further research on the narrators themselves because sometimes it influences how I'll perceive the story itself.

[Jennifer Donovan Smith]

I thought the voice actors did a good job. Sometimes, Kirby's voice came off as whiny and juvenile, but I think it suited the character well.

[Barbara Larkin]

I find that after the first few chapters or so I'll start to get into audiobooks. This means that I'll have to re-listen to those parts to get the basic gist of the story but I can do a bunch of other stuff while doing so.

[Rayah Raouf]

I've never tried an audiobook, but even if you read the book later without listening. It will still be good.