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  • Kingdom by the Sea

  • A Journey Around the Coast of Britian
  • By: Paul Theroux
  • Narrated by: Ron Keith
  • Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (38 ratings)
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Kingdom by the Sea cover art

Kingdom by the Sea

By: Paul Theroux
Narrated by: Ron Keith
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Summary

American-born Paul Theroux had lived in England for 11 years when he realized he'd explored dozens of exotic locations without discovering anything about his adopted home. So, with a knapsack on his back, he set out to explore by walking and by short train trips. The result is a witty, observant and often acerbic look at an ever eccentric assortments of Brits in all shapes and sizes.
©1983 The Cape Cod Scriveners Company (P)1990 Recorded Books, LLC
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Kingdom by the Sea

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Truly terrible narration

I SO wish I'd read the previous reviews before downloading this - It's a pretty awful book anyway - with a horribly petulant tone/alternating with his maddeningly twee habit of making up silly names for the strangers he meets and the otherwise brilliant Theroux should be ashamed of it.
But the narration!! it's the least professional job I've ever heard. Ron Keith's attempts at regional accents are nothing short of hilarious - but ultimately EXTREMELY annoying. In the end I just managed to get though the book by seeing the funny side. In the Newquay section, listen out for the sound of his stomach rumbling and the faint sound of a two women's voices chattering away in the background. Highlights are the South African and Bristolian accents and the fact that he can't pronounce any place names south of Bridlington (Margit, Ramsgit..) Truly bad in every way

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

An excellent book spoilt by dreadful narration

The book is without doubt another of Mr Theroux's fantastically observed pieces. However, I am afraid that the narration completely ruined this audible book for me. Definitely one I'll stick to reading.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The people & the places.

Paul Theroux knows how to describe the people of Britain. With wit & charm he explains why we are British whilst traversing the coastline of this fair isle. Brutal honesty is his bag! Funny & informative.
A joy from start to finish.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

dyspeptic view of people, badly read

I did not enjoy this and in fact gave up on it. I found Paul Theroux's contempt for everyone he met somewhat wearing - I just wish he'd stayed at home! The narrator's voice was fine when he spoke in his own gently Yorkshire voice but his accents were TERRIBLE! Even Cockney was beyond him and Devonian - well!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Great Book but .....

Paul Theroux has written a humourous and insightful book but the narrator is awful his attempts at local accents are execrable and detract mightily from the performance

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A Good Book but let down by the reading

I enjoyed this book when I first read it, way back in the 80s. It has dated rather, and Theroux makes some fundamental mid judgements about Britain. But I would have enjoyed it so much more as an audio book with better voicing. An American reader, for example? Someone who could make it live.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Disappointing narration,

Having read the book a few times over the years I thought I'd invest in the Audible version as well. The narrator is hopeless at accents which is bizarre considering the verbatim reporting of his casual encounters en route form an important part of the narrative. Mr Keith is as distant from an Anglicised American as it's possible to get and although I don't expect narrators to do impressions of authors his delivery was so far from what I expected as to take most of the pleasure from the story.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Terrible narrator

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Get a different narrator. I can just about stand his clipped public school type accent (even though he is playing the part of an Anglicised American) but when he changes speech to convey the conversations of the locals that he meets on his way around the coast they all sound exactly the same - and that is as a straining (constipated?) Brummie - about as far from the coast as you can get. It's all a bit superior and condescending

Would you be willing to try another one of Ron Keith’s performances?

Definitely NOT if part of that performance includes him attempting to portray any other English rubes

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Understated

This book was interesting but could not be described as uplifting. Partly this is due to the period that the author went on his journey, the Falklands war and the country in recession but also the writing style. Paul Theroux is very good at portraying sadness, neglect etc but not so good at portraying those parts of the coast that he found beautiful, uplifting and enjoyable. I also think that making up fictional names for the people he met along the way allowed him to stereo type them and this was clumsy and detracted from the journey. This also added to the negative feel of the book. I have downloaded another book by the same author but I'm not sure if I am brave enough to listen to it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

If you can, read it don’t listen

I listened to the first half of the book and thought the author was disdainful of the people and country, and the narrator couldn’t find the correct regional accents for anyone and seemed to make all the people seem stupid, and oddly, they nearly all seemed like the same person. I went back to the book and read some myself, and it didn’t come across anywhere near as much as a journey of grumpy man than when listening and the people seemed far less caricatured and individual. Tried the last couple of chapters again on the audiobook, and I honestly can’t recommend the it in the slightest. The book itself is fine (I wish I could give half stars as it would be a 3.5 / 5), but I’m sorry to say that the audiobook does it no favours and actually makes it worse.

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