Jitters: A Quirky Little Audio Book is an audiobook original that’s something like an old-fashioned radio show, minus sound effects and dialogue. Nancy Neptune, the main character, is a female shock jock temporarily exiled to radio station KNVL in Utah. Nancy’s peppery language, disheveled appearance, and addictions (cigarettes, coffee, and beer) startle the staid inhabitants of Navel, Utah (dry, non-smoking, and caffeine-free) even before she launches right into the same kind of off-color promotional stunts that got her into trouble back in Hackensack.
Whenever I listen to a full-cast audiobook production, it takes me a while to adjust to the dramatization. Because I’m accustomed to the single-narrator style of audiobook, the voices of the different actors in a full-cast production sound exaggerated at first, until I get used to them. Each of the characters’ voices has to be distinct enough to be immediately recognizable, and the cast of Jitters does that very well, especially with Nancy’s broad North Jersey accent, Rocco Campanili’s tough-guy attitude, and the drag queen voice of Jackie Wu. The characters all take turns telling the story from their overlapping points of view, punctuated by brief radio broadcasts from KNVL. (Jitters won the 2011 Audie Award for best multi-voiced performance from AudioFile, beating out such titles as Room from Hachette Audio and The Importance of Being Earnest from L.A. Theatre Works.)
The humor in Jitters is as broad as Nancy Neptune’s accent and as offensive as Nancy Neptune herself (one of her nicknames is “the Queen of Obscene”), but the audio book made me laugh pretty often once I got into the wacky spirit of it. Jitters mines just about everything for comedy, including polygamy, inbreeding, amputations, tragic accidents, masturbation, cross-dressing, obesity, and the good, clean living of the residents of Navel, Utah.
Author Adele Park judiciously spares book bloggers and audiobook reviewers from ridicule in Jitters. Either that, or she’s just saving us for the upcoming sequel…
I received a review copy of this audiobook from Straight to Audio Productions through Audiobook Jukebox, plus a copy to give away.
Other opinions on Jitters: A Quirky Little Audio Book (all good):
Alaskan Bookie
Audiobook Fans
Lakeside Musing
Jitters: A Quirky Little Audiobook
Parks, Adele
Multi-Voiced Cast
Straight to Audio Productions, 2010
Unabridged on 6 CDs, 6.5 hours
978-0-615-35682-2
$24.00
Filed under: audiobook, awards, book reviews, humor | Tagged: Adele Park, Audie Award winner, Jitters, multi-voice cast, original audiobook production, polygamy, radio, shock jock, Utah |
Bay State Reader's Advisory: Suggestions from a Massachusetts Librarian 
sounds great- I’d love a listen, fingers crossed!
Your “copy to give away” link is broken, FYI! I hope this counts as my comment to enter the giveaway; this sounds great and I’m really curious about straight-to-audiobooks. I just had a meeting with an audio rights licensing guy yesterday and he was talking about an hour-long audio-original interview series…which just sounds like a podcast you have to pay for! But this one sounds much more interesting. 🙂
Thanks for the info on the broken link! I think I’ve fixed it. I signed up for the Books on the Nightstand podcast recently, but have only listened to a couple of episodes so far.
I haven’t actually liked the book-related podcasts I’ve heard so far, maybe in part because I’m usually listening while walking somewhere and can’t stop to jot down interesting titles/authors and end up forgetting them. I’ve been enjoying the Dinner Party podcast lately though.
I haven’t been keeping up with Dinner Party lately, but am all caught up with Splendid Table. I explained to a woman how to get her podcasts from iTunes onto her iPod the other day and she was so excited.
For those who also enjoy audio dramatizations of classic literature, (Ethan Frome in an hour!), you may want to check out BBC Radio 4 online
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/programmes/genres/drama/current
Please don’t include me in the drawing, and thanks for the blog.
Thanks for the link! They have other interesting offerings, too, like the serialized Book at Bedtime. I don’t usually want to listen to an abridged version of a book, but dramatizations of a book are a nice change of pace.
This looks like an entertaining audiobook. I’d really enjoy listening to it. Thanks for the giveaway!
The winner of Jitters: A Quirky Little Audiobook, using Random.org to choose a winner, is Molly. Thank you for entering my very first giveaway, everyone!
Dear Bay State Reader’s Advisory:
Thank you for taking time to write such a thoughtful review. I have shared your link with the cast of Jitters-A Quirky Little Audio Book. We all appreciate your insightful comments.
WHEN MARIJUANA AND REALITY TV COLLIDE . . . Yikes! Another Quirky Audio Book is set to launch in August of 2012. I will make sure to send you a complimentary copy.
Best,
Adele Park
P.S. While I consider myself to be an equal opportunity offender in regards to my writing, I would never touch the sacred cow of Audio Book Reviewers!
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! I’ll be looking forward to the next audiobook!