Say the word “abridged” around here and you are likely to hear some pretty passionate opinions about how much we dislike that concept. Simply put, books were made to be read or listened to in their entirety. We don’t want anyone messing with removing the author’s words to make shorter audiobooks.
I experimented with abridged format when I first started listening to audiobooks twelve years ago. The selection of romance titles was pretty slim so I found myself picking up a few abridgments at eBay. It didn’t take long to realize I despised most abridgments (come on – a Judith McNaught book such as Until You
How does one account for all that jumping around that takes place when listening to an abridged audiobook? Or that sense that something important has just happened, leaving you wondering about a character’s motivation or why the sudden change of scenery. For the most part, the book just doesn’t make all that much sense and you feel… lost.
Now, there are four Georgette Heyer abridgments that worked very well for me. Their lengths range from four to five hours and all were A listens. However, my first three were narrated by Richard Armitage. Need I say more? I was surprised when my fourth Heyer abridgment, The Grand Sophy, narrated by Clare Wille, also fell in the solid A range for me. It wasn’t all Armitage sex appeal!
However, I’m not what you could call a Heyer fan. I haven’t read one of her titles in print format and I find the full-length audiobooks a bit too slow and… (don’t yell at me my Heyer-loving friends) a little boring (aka the boredom factor). These successful Naxos Audio Heyer abridgments are the exception but I doubt Heyer purists hold them in such high regard.
I’ve discovered two other mostly successful romance abridgments – Linda Howards’ Open Season
Open Season is available in both abridged and unabridged formats. It’s another book that I found a little boring when reading in print format. I have listened to both the unabridged version narrated by Deborah Hazlett and the abridged narrated by Kate Forbes and definitely prefer the abridged. Not only does the abridged version cut down on the boredom factor, but I also greatly preferred Kate Forbes’ narration. You may want to check out the dual review of Open Season Brenda and I wrote for Speaking of Audiobooks in July 2012 comparing the two versions.
The success of the abridged version of McNaught’s Every Breath You Take is another case of effectively removing the boredom factor. The original print version (it was later rewritten) contains one of those very long separations. I’m uncertain if the author did away with that long separation in her rewrite but the abridged version certainly did. Although there was an occasional feeling of a bit missing here or there, I enjoyed the abridged audio much more than the original full-length print version. And I’m a big McNaught fan. How I wish we could see all her other titles released in unabridged format!
Immediately below, you will find Kaetrin’s review of the abridged version of Keri Arthur’s Full Moon Rising
In these days of digital downloads and MP3 CDs, abridged audiobooks are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Remember those days when we had to lug around a dozen cassette tapes or CDs for one unabridged audiobook? That spelled big time inconvenience for commuters, which apparently created a demand for abridged books with only a few tapes or CDs even if it did mean sacrificing story content. Technology has removed that inconvenience.
On one hand, I’m hoping abridgments will become a thing of the past, yet, when I think it through, I recall the pleasure of listening to those abridged Georgette Heyer tales. I imagine there will always be a market for abridgments; I’m just hoping that market continues to shrink. Too many would-be audio listeners have been scared off by an abridgment.
What about you? Do you have any abridged horror stories or successes to share?
Lea Hensley
Great article Lea! I have never listened to an abridged romance audiobook. I imagine this would be akin to reading Cliff Notes. A practice which should be resorted to only in a pinch, but then as romance audiobooks are meant to be savored and enjoyed, this should never be the case for a romance unless there is no other option. While I can think of a few books that I wish I had listened to an abridged version thereof, those books are candidates because the writing lacked sufficient editing to begin with. These are basically books with good plots that lacked sufficient discipline in the execution thereof. If a book is concisely and well written to begin with, then I can’t imagine an abridged recording ever being as good as the original.
I haven’t listened to a sufficient number of abridged romances to know this for sure but I think the romantic aspects are most often cut and I’m not talking about descriptions of love making (although that may be the case). It’s that savoring of the romantic aspects that bring romance readers to the genre in the first place!
Way back in the day, when I was checking out books on cassette from the library, I was shocked a couple of times when I accidentally picked up an abridged book. I can’t remember the titles but I could tell that there were gaps in the storytelling. It felt like cheating! I can almost understand listening to an abridged, way too wordy action-adventure (looking at you Tom Clancy) but for me, I want the full impact of any book I am taking the time to listen to.
With unabridged, if we want to miss out on the detail, we can zone out for a while or increase the speed! We get to choose at least.
I think of abridged audiobooks as being like movie adaptations – lots have to be left out, but there are some which are well done and manage to keep to the spirit of the original, and some which are terrible.
The only abridged audiobooks I’ve listened to are the RA Heyer books, but I do listen to a lot of audio drama, which, by it’s very nature is usually abridged, but then it has a different appeal.
Generally, I’m not a big fan of abridgements, but there are some exceptions.
You know Caz, as I wrote this piece last night, I thought about your reference to movie adaptations for the first time. We Outlander fans are facing just that as our beloved books are being shortened for the Starz series. I’m excited about it though – it could be so very, very good if done correctly! (But don’t force that in audio format.) At least with the TV series, I’ll get to see the characters! Now let’s hope they live up to those who have lived in my mind for years.
I probably have an advantage in that I’ve neither read nor listened to Outlander although I will definitely watch the series if it’s shown over here. There’s nothing worse than having a favourite book ruined by a poor adaptation, casting choices or, as in the case of audiobooks, terrible narration, so I can understand what the legions of Gabaldon fans must be going through!
I have never been a fan of abridged audiobooks. I dislike the fact that somebody somewhere was deciding which parts of a book I should or should not listen to. I’m so glad most books are available in their entirety.
Shannon – does the Library of Congress carry abridged format?
I accidentally picked up an abridged version of Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ “Breathing Room” before going on vacation a few years ago. I was really annoyed to say the least! I didn’t bother, just stuck in the mail to send back to the library.
I am very happy about the new unabridged Heyers!
I can’t ever see myself wanting to miss a single passage from a SEP book! Even my least favorites of hers (which are few) still rate a B for me. I guess I didn’t realize SEPs were released in abridged format but I guess it only makes sense since nearly all were recorded during the heyday of abridgments.
I totally agree that abridgements should be a thing of the past – very little reason to release an abridgement these days. It’s just a file – and you can just keep listening until you are done. What if those RA Heyers had been full length?? that much more RA to love…
I wish when they released the full-length version of LH Open Season that Kate Forbes had narrated. I’m a big fan of the abridgement with Forbes, and I didn’t miss much when I read the full book. I think Forbes IS Daisy in my head, so the new version just wasn’t as satisfying.
Okay – you have me there! If Richard Armitage narrated unabridged Heyers, I’d happily listen to the entire book!
I haven’t listened to the abridged Grand Sophy but I have the RA narrated Heyer abridgements. I really liked them. I think a story which is complete in one book and which doesn’t require a lot of world building (such as Urban Fantasy for example – grrrr) is a better candidate for the abridged format. (it still might not work though).
I didn’t know what I was missing in the RA Heyer’s as I had never read or listened to any of them before. I have many Heyer’s on my TBR and TBL but I still haven’t made it through a full length one in its entirety. (My first audiobook was Regency Buck and I was so bored I gave up and never went back. I am told that RB isn’t a good Heyer to start with though). So, for me, those RA Heyer’s made Heyer accessible to me and one day I expect I will be brave enough to read/listen to an entire Heyer story!
But when you have a story with a complex plot, a large amount of world building and/or a big cast of characters, I don’t see how abridgement can work well. I’ve NEVER understood how on earth they made Outlander an abridged audiobook. The full story runs for more than 33 hours and they abridged version was something like 6!! I can’t imagine how the story made any sense at all.
Amen Kaetrin! How can you cut more than 4/5ths of a book!? Makes me shudder and especially when we’re talking one of the best unabridged audios around.
Totally agree with you on the world building. It’s such a necessity.
Yeah, the narrator for Regency Buck is all wrong :( Although many of those earlier Chivers/AudioGo Heyer recordings are pretty good, there are a few that are below par.
Thing is – and here is where I come off sounding very snobbish – I wasn’t a great romance reader when I was younger, so when I first read Heyer’s Regencies, I’d never read any by anyone else. And given that I read almost exclusively “literary classics” – Austen, Dickens, Trollope, Collins and many others, I suppose I was so used to the social conventions and to that sort of complexity of language that reading Heyer was like water off a duck’s back! That isn’t meant to sound self-aggrandising – but I will say that I find some comments I’ve read elsewhere about needing to have a dictionary on hand before attempting to read one of her books causes much eyerolling on my part! It’s probably also indicative of the fact that I’m an – *ahem* – older reader and listener.
All the new unabridged recordings I’ve listened to so far have been excellent, but my favourite is undoubtedly one of the older ones – The Unknown Ajax – the story is very subtly funny and the narration is outstanding.
I agree, love The Unknown Ajax and also The Toll Gate and The Nonesuch too……terrific narrators. Hopefully Regency Buck along with Bath Tangle and Black Sheep will be re-recorded. by Naxos.
Frederica/ $3.99 and A Lady of Quality/ $9.95 both unabridged are on sale at Audible. Both unabridged.
Will you be reviewing Venetia? Not to sure about Phylida Nash as voice for the vibrant Venetia Lanyon…..whatcha think?
I should never type on my phone…..I meant to say Both have good narrators. :)
We will be reviewing Venetia and Masqueraders.
The only abridged books that I’ve listened to are the earlier Stephanie Plum books. Even though I’ve read the actual books, I still find the abridged audio versions confusing to follow.
I just have to say it. I hate abridged audiobooks. I started listening to audiobooks in the early nineties. Back then there weren’t many Romance audiobooks. So I listened to some abridged Romance audiobooks. They were better than nothing at the time but I always felt like I missed half the story. I am glad digital downloads are here!
My most memorable abridged disasters were the Judith McNaught books – two in particular that are print favorites of mine, Perfect and Paradise (700 page books reduced to 3 hours!) – and a few of Anne Stuart titles which I think were condensed to two hours!
I despise ARIDGED Audiobooks. When audiobooks started coming out a 1000 years ago, there wasn’t much to choose from. Especially if they were on cassette.
How can a wonderful book like CROCODILE ON THE SANDBANK be enjoyed fully and read by Barbara Rosenblat be enjoyed in a cut down version. Intolerable from my point of view.
It took me forever to find a copy of PS I LOVE in the unabridged form on CDs. I listened to abridged format I bought from Audible. Had I not read the book and fell in love with it, I wouldn’t have anything. But I read it and a lot was missing from the Abridged version.
Mara
I haven’t listened to an abridged audio but it just sounds crazy to cut out parts of the book.
I have never wanted to listen to an abridged audiobook. When I’ve seen one that says abridged, I get out of there as quick as I can. ;) If I am going to listen to a story, I want the whole story! I wouldn’t buy an abridged version of a regular book either.