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Wed, 03/19/2008

Audiobooks by Craig Johnson:

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The entire series of books is out in audio, and I thought I was ready for it, but I guess I wasn't. I arrived home from a jaunt back to Philadelphia, where we met our new grandbaby, whose name is Lola (no, she is not named after Henry's Thunderbird), to find a packet on the porch from Viking/Penguin containing four copies of the unabridged, 11 CD, thirteen-and-a half-hour version of The Cold Dish. After hauling in all the luggage, feeding the horses, and making a fire, I figured the CDs were thawed out enough to play.

Tony Hillerman warned me that it would be a strange experience but that I was in good hands with Recorded Books and George Guidall. He was right on both accounts. I went back in the office and put in the first CD, figuring moderation was the ticket in all things. I came back into the kitchen and sat down to take note. I'd spoken with George about a number of the pronunciations of the Crow and Cheyenne languages, and he'd impressed me as one of the most detailed and prepared performers with whom I'd ever spoken, so I was prepared to be impressed, and I was.

I sat there in the kitchen with the wind howling outside and the comforting crackle of the fire as I listened to the introduction of a work written by me, copyright mine, staring George Guidall.

You might know George if you see him; you will definitely know him when you hear him. With leading roles on Broadway, he's the recipient of an Obie and has been on the soaps and TV shows such as Law & Order, The Equalizer, and Spencer: For Hire. He is also one of the audio-book industry's most acclaimed readers, winner of two Audie Awards and, from my personal experiences, just a heck of a guy.

He started in and I noticed how the timber and cadence of his voice changed with each character. I asked Judy about a particular segment that I thought was in the book and must have been edited.

She smiled, "No. It's unabridged. Remember, you cut that."

"Oh." I smiled back and listened to the modulated tones of George's voice, taking me back to a place I knew well but hadn't been in a while. I thought of another part that I thought must be missing and asked Judy.

"You cut that, too."

"Oh."

George continued and captured just the right amount of world-weary quality to Walt's rolling monologue, mentioning Martha's death and her family ranch down near Powder Junction... I looked at Judy again. "I don't remember that Martha's family lived near Powder River."

"I'm pretty sure it's there."

The look on my face was a little unsettled. "Well, damn..."

Needless to say, the production is marvelous, and George Guidall's performance is a thing of beauty. It is for all three books and soon to be a fourth.

If you are like me and haven't read them in a while, treat yourself. Or, if you haven't read them at all, or if you have read them recently and want a different take on them, order them and listen-it's what I did as I drove across Wyoming twice this weekend, which was almost enough time to remind me what the heck I wrote.

Damn.

Best,
Craig

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