Audio Archive: The Clothes They Stood Up In

June is Audiobook Month.  Regular readers of Lakeside Musing know my love of audiobooks has been well-chronicled over the years. To celebrate Audiobook Month, I will post a review from my audio archives each Monday. This week I continue with The Clothes They Stood Up In by Alan Bennett, originally reviewed 2/26/09. Keep up with all Audiobook Month activities on twitter by following #JIAM2012.

The Clothes They Stood Up In
by Alan Bennett
AudioGO, Ltd.
read by the author
2 hours 18 minutes

"The Ransomes had been burgled.  "Robbed," Mrs. Ransome said.  "Burgled," Mr. Ransome corrected.  Premises were burgled; persons were robbed.  Mr. Ransome was a solicitor by profession and thought words mattered. " 


These opening lines were featured in my Tuesday Teaser last week, but they are so memorable I had to include them again.  As the novella opens, the Ransomes  have come home to find their apartment completely cleaned out - right down to the toilet paper.  Some uproariously funny moments ensue as the investigation begins, but soon things take a more serious, even dark, turn.

Mr. and Mrs. Ransome have very different ways of coping with their losses.  Mr. Ransome, who enjoys a rigid, structured existence, is able to return to his normal routine, just slightly compromised, with relative ease.  For Mrs. Ransome, the task is not quite so simple.  Being stripped of all her possessions presents an opportunity to question both her routine and many past decisions.  She does exactly that and becomes quite a changed person in the process.

It is always a treat when an author reads his own work, and Mr. Bennett delivers a wonderful performance.  The Clothes They Stood Up In, while not charming in the vein of The Uncommon Reader, still delivers a message that caused me to stop and think.  I'm not done reading Alan Bennett.  Perhaps The History Boys: A Play will be next, or maybe an essay collection...

My audio rating: A

A Few of My Favorite Things - 2009

My first year of blogging has also been a fantastic year for reading. Although my totals don't even approach what many bloggers are able to read, I have enjoyed this year's books more than ever. Some of that can be attributed to more thoughtful book selection on my part, but most of the credit goes to other book bloggers. This year, exactly half the books I read were a direct result of your recommendations. Thank you!

Top 5 Books of 2009:

The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield - review here

Therese Raquin by Emile Zola - review here

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri - review here

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout - review here; my bookclub reaction here

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett - review here

Honorable Mention:

Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple - review here

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin - review here

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - review here

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo - review here

The Hour I First Believed - by Wally Lamb - review here

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto - review here

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim - review here

North River by Pete Hamill - review here

Favorite Graphic Novel/Memoir:

Ethel & Ernest

by Raymond Briggs

(review here)

Favorite Non-fiction:

Downtown: My Manhattan

by Pete Hamill

(review here)

Favorite Audiobook:

The Help

by Kathryn Stockett

(review here)

SHORT STORIES

2009 will be remembered as the year I rediscovered short stories. It's probably accurate to say that the last short story I read was in high school and, even then, I didn't particularly appreciate them. This year, I reviewed 35 short stories here and read quite a few more.

Overall Favorite Story

"The Dress" by Louise Erdrich

(review here)

Favorite Ghost Story

"The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell

(my review here; read the story here)

Favorite Holiday Story

"A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote

(my review here)

Most Powerful Story

"Chicxulub" by T.C. Boyle

(my review here; read the story here)

Funniest Story

"I Dated Jane Austen" by T.C. Boyle

(my review here; read the story here)

Honorable Mention

"The Swimmer" by John Cheever

"When Everyone Was Pregnant" by John Updike

"A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell

"Double Birthday" by Willa Cather

AUTHORS

In 2009, I read 27 new-to-me authors. Most were recommended by bloggers; several I hadn't even heard of at this time last year. I'll definitely be reading more of these favorites.

Favorite Author Discoveries - 2009

Louise Erdrich

Emile Zola

Colm Toibin

Dorothy Canfield (Fisher)

Alan Bennett

Dorothy Whipple

Banana Yoshimoto

Pete Hamill

A Reflections and Resolutions post is coming later this week.

The Clothes They Stood Up In by Alan Bennett

The Clothes They Stood Up In

by Alan Bennett

Audiobook, BBC WW

read by the author

2 hours 18 minutes

"The Ransomes had been burgled.  "Robbed," Mrs. Ransome said.  "Burgled," Mr. Ransome corrected.  Premises were burgled; persons were robbed.  Mr. Ransome was a solicitor by profession and thought words mattered. " 

These opening lines were featured in my Tuesday Teaser last week, but they are so memorable I had to include them again!  As the novella opens, the Ransomes  have come home to find their apartment completely cleaned out - right down to the toilet paper!  Some uproariously funny moments ensue as the investigation begins, but soon things take a more serious, even dark, turn.

Mr. and Mrs. Ransome have very different ways of coping with their losses.  Mr. Ransome, who enjoys a rigid, structured existence, is able to return to his normal routine, just slightly compromised, with relative ease.  For Mrs. Ransome, the task is not quite so simple.  Being stripped of all her possessions presents an opportunity to question both her routine and many past decisions.  She does exactly that and becomes quite a changed person in the process.  

It is always a treat when an author reads his own work, and Mr. Bennett delivers a wonderful performance.  The Clothes They Stood Up In, while not charming in the vein of The Uncommon Reader, still delivers a message that caused me to stop and think.  I'm not done reading Alan Bennett.  Perhaps The History Boys: A Play will be next, or maybe an essay collection...

My audio rating: A