When you listen to an audiobook, do you expect the narrator's voice to match the gender of the protagonist? That is, would it be offputting to hear a female read a story that has a male protagonist, and vice versa? Or do you even notice?
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I don't listen to very many audiobooks, but it's never bothered me, and I imagine I'd only find it an issue in special cases, e.g., Denis Leary reading Little Women, or Mother Teresa reading the novelization of a Michael Bay movie.
ReplyDeleteI think it would depend on whether or not the book was first or third person. If it was a male protagonist in the first person, I'd be thrown out of it if a woman was reading and vice versa.
ReplyDelete@Jeff - the idea of Leary reading Little Women is strangely compelling :)
ReplyDelete@PC - good point. I was thinking of third person specifically.
I don't do audio books (I need to see the words), but in theory I wouldn't have a problem with a narrator of a different gender, except in the first person like PC said.
ReplyDeleteI don't listen to audio-books, but yes I'd expect the voice to match the gender of the narrator, character.
ReplyDeleteSheila B.
@Heather, @Sheila: thanks for the input!
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine had me listen to her publisher's audio production a few days ago. They chose a mature sounding narrator, lots of gravitas in the voice. The heroine is 19. Yet, the narration works because there's a mystery to be solved and a strong paranormal element. Had they chosen a male narrator, I don't think it would have been as compelling.
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