Great content AWFUL HORRIBLE narration

I purchased the hard copy of this book and read it in one night. Because the text is to be studied I was excited when I received an email offering a free Audible download. The first sound of the narrator’s voice made me so angry. However, I said let me do some research. Maybe this is her natural speaking voice. It is not. It’s like she made our rich traditions into a joke with her fake southern drawl. I’m happy I read the hard copy because I couldn’t continue to listen to this. IMHO Kim Staunton, someone actually from the cultural, would’ve been a much better choice. Do yourself a favor, skip this and purchase the book. It’s a great primer for the budding Black American, southern rooted Hoodoo practitioner or just someone who is curious and wants to learn more.

14 people found this helpful

My first Audible return

There's a lot of good information to be had here, which is why I plan to track down a physical copy as soon as I can. At least, I assume there's a lot of good information here. I could only take a few chapters of hearing what is by far the worst narration that has ever assaulted my ear drums.

As a Southerner, I can sniff out pretty much any fake Southern accent, but I think anyone could notice this one, even if you have the ear of van Gogh. I'm talking full Foghorn Leghorn.

Never go full Foghorn Leghorn.

12 people found this helpful

Great Information; Terrible Accent

This is a cool book, I just wish I had bought it for Nook not Audible. The lady who reads it might have a fine voice in her normal dialect but her accent is super phony: think community college theatre improv. Its nearly ruined listening to this for me because I have to really force myself past the distraction which is hard and I dont fo audio books to make reading harder. If youre not from the South and really dont know anyone from here though, maybe it wont bother you ... the content is truly good. Its a shame for the author that this is the voice actor they chose.

5 people found this helpful

The awful accent makes focusing difficult

It was so difficult to stay focused on the book bc the narrator's accent was so put-on and distracting. It was an awful rendition of a southern accent, but then also having an obviously not-southern white woman narrating a book about an African-based practice, it was just too much. Really wish I had just purchased the actual book.

2 people found this helpful

Terrible Narrating and First Return

I was looking forward to listening to this audio book for more infromation of self descovery and I couln't even make it through the introduction because of the awful accent. PLEASE find another person to narrate this illistration.

2 people found this helpful

Good info but annoying forced accent

I felt like I was being told the basics of hoodoo by Blanche from the golden girls or some mid century debutante and as a southern woman.....kind of insulting....but the info was good.

2 people found this helpful

Excellent book!

Narrator's voice remained me of a time I want to truly forget, Antebellum South, horrible!

2 people found this helpful

Misrepresentation

Honest Representation does matter. Upon initially listening to this book I was a little confused about the choice for the narrator due to the ethnicity of the author as stated in the opening chapter of this book. I did a little digging and have noticed that the author doesn't have any online presence or even a wiki page which is a redflag. Also, this author has only one image available online. These things struck me as odd for someone to claim to be a known and experienced rootworker. Hoodoo is generally thought of as being a closed ancestral based practice. So, if you are a diaspora background novice who is interested in learning about your ancestors, this book may be a bit misleading and inauthentic, In listening to the book, I noticed that the information given was greatly generalized and cliché. The herbs mentioned are very Eurocentric in nature and do not entirely align with what would have been available to enslaved Africans residing in the deep south. The performance is not that great and is a bit off-putting in a Blanch Du Bois way that no living southerners speak anymore. Overall, I would say just save your credit and choose an author with a verifiable bio.

1 person found this helpful

Wonderful

The narration reminded my of my grandma, sweet and soothing like a tall glass of sweet tea. Very easy to follow and educational as expected. Good book for those of us new to the hoodoo way.

1 person found this helpful

hmmm...

ive had this audio for a couple of months, and it was a struggle to finish. I'm still not finished . the accent of the reader drove me NUTS!!!