Reviewed by Annika
AUTHOR: N.R. Walker
NARRATOR: Glen Lloyd
PUBLISHER: Love Lane Books
RELEASE DATE: November 7, 2019
LENGTH: 6 hours, 17 minutes
BLURB:
Jordan O’Neill isn’t a fan of labels, considering he has a few. Gay, geek, a librarian, socially awkward, a nervous rambler, an introvert, an outsider. The last thing he needs is one more. But he when he realizes adding the label “asexual” might explain a lot, it turns his world upside down.
Hennessy Lang moved to Surry Hills after splitting with his boyfriend. His being asexual had seen the end of a lot of his romances, but he’s determined to stay true to himself. Leaving his North Shore support group behind, he starts his own in Surry Hills, where he meets first-time-attendee Jordan.
A little bewildered and scared, but completely adorable, Hennessy is struck by this guy who’s trying to find where he belongs. Maybe Hennessy can convince Jordan that his world hasn’t been turned upside down at all, but maybe it’s now – for the first time in his life – the right way up.
REVIEW:
I read this book when it was first released earlier this year and absolutely loved it You can read my original review for my thoughts on the story and characters, as this one will mainly focus on the narration. When I saw that it had been released into audio and with a new to me narrator I couldn’t listen to it fast enough.
I’m loving this new narrator; Glen Lloyd. His Aussie accent had me melting. It made me realise how much I’d missed when listening to books set in Australia but narrated by non-native Aussie speakers. The stories lost some of their authenticity, the genuine feel of the people. And I think that’s particularly true when the sense of place played an integral part of the story. As a side note, when listening to those stories in the past, it never bothered me. It’s just now that I’m realising how much have been lost in the “translation” for those books.
Upside Down might be Lloyd’s first foray into audiobook narration, but if I hadn’t looked that fact up I wouldn’t have known it from listening to this book. He was that good, not flawless but nothing that labelled him as a novice either.
Glen Lloyd captured the heart and essence of Jordan. His nervousness and verbal diarrhea was spot on. But more than that, he really made the listener feel him questioning himself, trying to find answers, a place and people to belong with. At the same time he was also desperately trying to avoid another label. It all shone through in Lloyd’s words. He made you ride the bus with the Soup Crew, cheering Jordan on, offering suggestions, helpful and otherwise. In short, he made you a part of Jordan’s journey.
There was only one thing that I wished for with Lloyd’s narration, and that was different voices for Hennessy and Jordan. At times it was difficult to keep track of who was speaking. This was especially true during the rapid fire exchanges that Walker does so brilliantly. Lloyd does distinguish between male and female characters, but when the two main characters are male, you – or at least I – need some difference between them. I mean their personalities were vastly different, but still it wasn’t always clear who was who. And then there was a re-take that wasn’t ideal, where the same sentence was repeated twice. But you know what, those are all minor things in the whole of it. Because, I still loved every second of this book, and will more than gladly listen to more books by Lloyd. I hope there he’ll produce many more to come.
At its core, this book was all about finding and accepting yourself. About love in all shapes and forms. It was a sweet slow-burn love story filled with the humour and fun characters that Walker is known and loved for. It’s a book I highly recommend!
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