Apologies for the delay in posting this, which was due to an extraordinary visit I undertook to Egypt (details of this, coming soon to this website!).
This is the fourth in a regular weekly series (every Wednesday) of 4 Audible reviews, broken down into the categories, which I selected for my first Audible blog (Dan’s Top 5 Reasons to Start Listening to Audible.co.uk) and subdivided, where helpful.
So, this latest one is ‘Creative Use of the Audible Format’. Links to where you can purchase each of the titles for yourself (via Audible) are available by clicking the relevant title or photograph. Enjoy!
‘The Way of the Leopard: Meditations & Shamanic Practices from the Heart of Africa’ by John Lockley
Read by the Author
Whilst I, primarily, observe a fairly narrow lineage of shamanism (the Qu’ero Incan variety), my first introduction to shamanism was via ‘Core Shamanism’, which analyses the common factors in shamanic practices from around the world, so I am always fascinated to learn more about other branches of shamanic energy medicine practitioners.
The Way of the Leopard provides a beautiful insight into the work of the ‘sangoma’, the traditional priests and healers of the Xhosa lineage of South Africa. John Lockley, one of the few white men to become a fully initiated sangoma guides us through his own calling and introduces us to the basic practices of South African mysticism. The South African accent, which can seem a little harsh, is transfigured here by Lockley, who renders it gentle and consoling in his narration.
The title, ‘Sangoma’, or ‘people of the song’, emphasises the importance of rhythm, song and dance to the South African shaman. It is also linked with their unusual practice of ‘shaking medicine’ – the use of the breath, body and heart to activate the ‘lightning rod’ of our spines to enhance spiritual power.
In the course of his narration, Lockley inspires us to awaken our ‘ubuntu’ or ‘shared humanity’. He also offers a thought-provoking insight into how to uncover the wisdom of our dreams but also a warning about the ‘trickster’ nature of the dream world and his personal guidance that we ought not to see every nightshift as prophetic or full of meaning.
What makes this a ‘creative use of the Audible format’ is that John Lockley is able to address us much more directly than he could have from the pages of a book – it is easy, as a listener, to feel that a real connection has been achieved with the Sangoma. In addition, we are able to hear the beautiful songs of his lineage for ourselves and to be guided by him through some of the ancient practices. Through Lockley, then, we learn how to activate our physical senses and how to ignite our intuition, through practices, which strengthen our ‘sixth sense’ of deep knowing and spiritual awareness.
Whether you are a shaman and interested to learn more about another culture’s medicine or a complete newbie, this really is a fascinating journey to undertake and I highly recommend it.
‘Help’ by Simon Amstell
Read by the Author
Simon Amstell is probably best known for his hosting duties on Popworld and Never Mind The Buzzcocks – his love of the surreal and his ability to prick the pomposity of self-important guests on both shows was a particular delight to me. He is also, however, an accomplished stand-up, currently embarked on a national tour and having first performed at just thirteen years old. Plagued by loneliness, anxiety and depression, it appears that Amstell found a comforting outlet in sharing his troubles with the world.
Ostensibly an autobiography, Help is rendered a ‘creative use of the Audible format’, through the incorporation of footage from Amstell’s stand-up tours. I find it difficult reading transcripts of gigs because you lose the stand-up’s unique nuances of delivery and, crucially, their personality, on the page – here, the device works rather well by occasionally transporting us into the heart of a live venue. This can be quite poignant, when we know the background to a particular comic routine, or what the circumstances of Amstell’s life were at the time of recording.
Of particular interest to the shamanic folk who make up most of my readership, is the section towards the end of the book, which describes Simon’s visit to the Amazon to take Ayahuasca. Simon’s initial feelings comically mirrored my own – “I don’t do drugs…but I will if they contain magic!” The description of his experiences with the plant medicine are fascinating and he reaches the rather beautiful epiphany that, “You are God, looking through you.”
Whether you just want to raise your spirits and laugh out loud at the comedy routines, or learn something about how to battle depression, or hear about one person’s experiences of plant medicine, this book is well worth a listen.
‘You Don’t Know Me’ by Imran Mahmood
Read by Adam Deacon
An unusual concept, You Don’t Know Me is the closing speech of an Old Bailey murder trial, in which, at the last possible moment, a young man decides to sack his legal team and offer us the ‘real’ version of the events which led to his arrest.
This book gets the ‘creative use’ tag because of its construction as a dramatic monologue and for its casting of the listener in the role of the jury. Its success as an audible book hangs upon an exceptional
performance by Adam Deacon, whose sense of outrage and terrible urgency, lifts it above the average Audible narration and encourages us, despite his obvious flaws, to root for the central character.
For me, however, towards the end of the novel, it became a little too grandiose in its weaving of an elaborate conspiracy theory. A little more subtlety might have made this book a real triumph, rather than just an unusual quirk.
I’m surprised, however, by the number of people expressing outrage on Audible’s reviews’ site about the ending – the whole point of which, it seems to me, is to engage the listener and, ultimately, to allow their take on it to be paramount, rather than the author’s. You’ll have to decide for yourself, whether you agree with me or not!
‘Thirteen Reasons Why’ by Jay Asher
Read by Debra Wiseman & Joel Johnstone
I found the premise of Thirteen Reasons Why really intriguing – a boy returns home to find a number of cassette tapes from a girl who recently committed suicide, in which she blames the people to whom the tapes have been addressed. The concept intrigued Netflix enough to commission a series based on the novel and I imagine that you will find it pretty compelling too.
The genius of Audible is that it is as if we are receiving the tapes for ourselves, as Hannah’s voice rings out, accusingly, at US! Yet we also share our other narrator’s heartbreak at receiving the tapes and, as the story unfolds, his incomprehension at to why he has been singled out to receive them, when he seems to have loved the girl.
An intriguing mystery, my advice is to clear some time for yourself, as you’re not going to be able to take a break from the twists and turns, which each new tape unravels.