Libby Spurrier

This book was entertaining and inspirational on a shallow level, but not very realistic.

It takes a lot of privilege to be able to take time to find enlightenment. I don't understand how anyone except the wealthy can relate to this story. Who feeds the monks? Who feeds the people who wait in line for months at a time? I don't comprehend the material reality of this story and this made me not enjoy the story as much as I might have. I wish an explanation for where the money to build the show more monastery as well as to provide for the monks comes from. This story is wishful thinking. An average working-class person would not even be able to visit the holy man and so what is the point? Even the problems of the people waiting in line are problems of the privileged.

I could not relate to the story. show less

There was a lot of little joys in this book. Sometimes it triggered an eyeroll as the little old holy man instantly solved someone's lifetime problem with a quirky sentence. In the spirit of the book I tried to keep a generous mind and let it lead me toward a simple thought, that every person is a holy person.

Gender-swapped Retelling
Review of the Audible Audio audiobook edition (Nov. 2018), an adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson original The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)

Although Henrietta Jekyll & Eleanor Hyde is a modern day gender-swapped retelling of the Robert Louis Stevenson novella, it actually does not diverge from the original plot very much. There are a few references to ATMs and cell phones, but very little of the modern world really intrudes. The dialogue could show more actually be part of a 19th century book as very few modernisms are used. Even some the actions are dated, such as a regular consumption of spirits. Several characters aside from Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde are gender swapped, but there are really no major changes or expansions which would have given this any sort of ground-breaking rating. So it is probably a 2 (It was OK) bumped up to a 3 (Liked It) for the narration performances and the audio production.

Henrietta & Eleanor was originally released in November, 2018 and was also one of ten free Audible Original audiobooks for members in the month of June, 2020. It is available to everyone for a standard price. show less

Brilliantly preformed!
Henrietta & Eleanor: A Retelling of Jekyll and Hyde
An Audible Original Drama
By: Robert Louis Stevenson, Libby Spurrier - dramatist
Narrated by: Holliday Grainge, Clive Mantle, Carla Mendonça, Miranda Raison

This was a Jekyll and Hyde book made for today's audiences! It has a full cast of characters that were marvelous in their performance! The story itself was different than the original but referred to the "men". The story still has a potion but there are differences. show more There is a twist I didn't see coming too! Great job all the way around! show less