It’s been awhile since my last “Audiobook Versus” series, and I found the perfect follow-up. Today, we’ll be taking a look at two people who narrated the audiobooks for the 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises from the man; the myth; the person who will infodump you on France, Spain, and bullfighting, Ernest Hemingway.
This month marks the 100th anniversary of the book’s publication. This sowed the seeds for Hemingway’s illustrious writing career, and I can see why. It contains wonderful descriptions of various locations as well as memorable characters, even if they aren’t always likeable. The biggest strength of the novel is how it captures the disillusionment and aimless mood of the time aka the Lost Generation since the world had changed since the Great War, and the characters don’t know what to do with themselves besides travel, eat, and drink (emphasis on the last part). It’s not a perfect book because the pacing is slow, and parts feel more home in a travelogue than in a full-fledged novel. Nevertheless, its mood remains relevant to this very day. It’s also best to read or listen to it while traveling.
It has recently come to my attention that not one, but two actors have recorded audiobooks of this classic story. They are William Hurt and Alexander Adams, two people who are on the opposite sides of the audiobook spectrum.
William Hurt was an actor best known for his work in 1980s movies like The Big Chill, Body Heat, and Children of a Lesser God. He won an Oscar for his leading performance in Kiss of the Spider Woman. Hurt recorded his version of the story in 2006, and it was one of seven audiobooks he did until his death in 2022.
Alexander Adams (real name Grover Gardner) is an actor, director, and audiobook narrator. He’s a member of the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington D.C. and the Resident Director at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore. He has recorded over 450 audiobooks ranging from authors John Grisham to Agatha Christie. He recorded this novel in 1992. This version is so obscure that I couldn’t find a cover with Adams listed as the narrator.
Whose is better at capturing the spirit of the book? Let’s find out!
1. Lady Brett Ashley:
Hurt gives Lady Brett Ashley, the only main female character in the story, dignity. Even though she sleeps around, she sounds elevated given her royal status with an English accent. It can be difficult for narrators to portray people of a different gender, but Hurt makes it work by softening his voice.
Adams gives Lady Brett a soft and dignified voice as well. He commits to the specific vocalization of her throughout. One of my problems with Adams’s performance is that most characters sound the same, but his narration as the only female character is not one of them.
First point goes to Adams!
2. Robert Cohen:
Since Robert’s Jewish heritage is often referred to in The Sun Also Rises, it would be easy to simply channel this in a stereotypical way. But, Hurt doesn’t fall into that trap. He makes Robert sound nasally and worried, but it never comes off as forced.
Adams does a similar portrayal of Robert, just a pitch higher from his normal voice. Sadly, it’s not as memorable as Hurt’s vocal performance because it lacks personality.
Hurt gets his first point!
3. Supporting Characters:
Hurt voices Michael “Mike” Campbell, Lady Brett Ashley’s fiance, with a typical Scottish accent that can sound aggressive when the character is drinking. Other supporting characters like Pedro Romero and Montoya are given their own vocal distinctions. The former sounds tough, while the latter is wise.
He stands out with his vocal performance of Billy Gorton, Jake’s friend who goes fishing with him in Spain. He does this with a relaxed Midwestern drawl. It reminded me a lot of John Goodman. It turns out that both Hurt and Goodman worked on the television series Damages, but they were on separate seasons. Regardless, Hurt made Billy his own.
As for Adams, one of the two main issues I have with him as a narrator of this audiobook is that almost every character sounds the same. Spanish characters like Pedro Romero and Montoya are accented in a similar way, and others sound pompous with no other distinctions. Adams voices Michael “Mike” Campbell as if he’s the most pretentious Englishman ever even though he’s Scottish. It’s certainly a choice. Billy Gorton is similar to Adams’s own natural voice, but pitched lower. Great audiobook narration doesn’t have to contain vocally distinct characters at all times. It’s understandable that some might sound alike, but it helps the reader to pick out who’s talking, and Adams needed to do more.
Hurt gets another point!
4. Character Consistency:
Hurt is pretty consistent. He’s able to switch from one character to another with ease, and I had no problem identifying who was talking at that moment even when the novel was a slow point. My only complaint is that Lady Brett’s accent is not quite defined until the second half of the story. It was like he was trying to find different ways to approach the character while he was still recording.
Adams is consistent as well since everyone sounds similar, so he has very little problem jumping from one to another.
At this point, I will give both Hurt and Adams half a point each because maintaining the characters’ voices is hard!
So far, here are the scores:
Hurt: 2.5
Adams: 1.5
5. Pacing:
Hurt’s pacing is steady. He goes along with the speed of the story, which again can be quite slow. He takes his time even though I wish he could’ve picked it up a bit.
Adams reads the book like he’s an old-school newsreporter, but with little of the fast talking. It’s steady, but I wished he slowed down at times because it seemed like he was rushing it. I rather have a narrator take their time reading a book than speeding through it.
This point goes to Hurt!
6. Volume:
I only had to tweak the volume a few times while listening to Hurt’s recording. He doesn’t get too loud nor too soft. I honestly wish that there was more variety in the volume, for it felt static at times.
Luckily, I didn’t have to tweak the volume while listening to Adams, but I had the same problems with him as I did with Hurt.
Again, half a point is awarded to both!
7. Jake Barnes:
Hurt voices Jake – our Hemingway Hero – as closely to his normal voice as possible. It sounds warm and melancholic at times, but I don’t remember much else from the performance.
Adams also voices Jake as closely to his normal voice as possible. Since he narrates it like an old-school newsreporter, he feels detached from the story. Character-wise, this makes sense because Jake is a newsreporter, but for the plot, it sounded like he was reciting the facts with little emotion. There were honestly times that I ignored what was happening while listening to the Adams version for that reason. Why should I care about a group of disillusioned expatriates if the narrator seemingly can’t?
The final point goes to Hurt!
Now! Here are the final scores:
Hurt: 5
Adams: 2
Although I had some issues with The Sun Also Rises, Hurt and Adams do their best to make it interesting. It wasn’t a close race. Even though Hurt didn’t do as many audiobooks as Adams during his lifetime, his acting training allowed the characters to pop more. In many ways, I’m disappointed with Adams because I expected a higher quality since he’s recorded over 450 audiobooks, but even the best narrators have off days. It’s still not going to deter me from listening to more of his work.
Thanks for tuning in for another Audiobook Versus!
Stay tuned for next week when I review the 1957 movie version of The Sun Also Rises starring Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, and Errol Flynn.
Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!
