Audiobook Review: No One Goes Alone by Erik Larson, narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt

No One Goes Alone: A Novel
by Erik Larson, audiobook narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt (Compact Disc Larson)

I’ve enjoyed the non-fiction books of Erik Larson, starting with The Devil in the White City (the 2006 One Book — One Lincoln selection), Isaac’s Storm, Thunderstruck, Dead Wake and more. One thing reviewers of those have said is that Larson manages to take specific historical events and tell the real history in a way that feels like realistic fiction.

Well, No One Goes Alone: A Novel turns out to be Larson’s first foray into the world of fictional writing. And he’s chosen to release it only as an audiobook (both digitally and as a book-on-cd, the format I took advantage of). This 7-1/2 hour audiobook is basically an extended ghost or haunted house story, and as Larson says in some author note tracks at the end of the audiobook, the best way to tell a ghost story is orally, around a crackling campfire.

In this novel, Larson mixes a cast of real historical figures with some fictional ones. In 1905, on the remote (and fictional) Isle of Dorn in the North Atlantic, off the coast of England, a group of 8 researchers assembles at a massive stone house to see if they can prove or disprove the existence of paranormal forces associated with the building and island. The group is led by psychologist William James (an American), and is comprised of both skeptics and those who have been touched by the paranormal in the past, all British. The narrator is Josiah, a young wireless operator, brought along to see if his wireless equipment can determine if there are electromagnetic disturbances on the island.

This novel is told in a very old-fashioned way — mostly through the intellectual conversations of the characters as they interact with each other (mostly strangers before this expedition) and as they explore the mysteries of both the house and the island. If you’re looking for pulse-pounding action, this isn’t the story for you. But if you like a creepy setting, and people gradually becoming unnerved by perhaps inexplicable events they can’t escape from, this is right up your alley.

I’ve seen numerous complaints, in online reviews of No One Goes Alone: A Novel, that “nothing happens”. I disagree completely. I really enjoyed the character interplay and the gradual, inexorable build up of tension. I also appreciated Larson’s mix of real and fictional characters. I strongly recommend this audiobook, if you’re in the right frame of mind to appreciate its unique qualities. I particularly enjoyed actor/narrator Julian Rhind-Tutt’s various vocal choices for the difference character voices.

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the various non-fiction titles by Erik Larson.)

( official No On Goes Alone page on the official Erik Larson web site )

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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