101dalmatiansFrom Goodreads: “Pongo and Missus had a lovely life. With their human owners, the Dearly’s, to look after them, they lived in a comfortable home in London with their 15 adorable Dalmatian puppies, loved and admired by all. Especially the Dearly’s’ neighbour Cruella de Vil, a fur-fancying fashion plate with designs on the Dalmatians’ spotted coats! So, when the puppies are stolen from the Dearly home, and even Scotland Yard is unable to find them, Pongo and Missus know they must take matters into their own paws!”

My Review

What a delightful audiobook this was, I’m so glad I decided to listen this on a whim as it’s turned out to be a new favourite.

I’d just finished 2 thrillers and needn’t a break from dark and twisty books, so went browsing the library’s rb digital app. I’d added this to my wish list a while ago, but hadn’t been in the mood to listen to a children’s classic. I’m not keen on classics, so wasn’t expecting to be so delighted with this book, even though I’d seen the Disney film, a very long time ago.

I’m very pleased to have been proven wrong by how lovely and humourous this audiobook was, especially with Martin Jarvis narrating. He’s one of my favourite narrators and never fails to impress with me with his incredible array of voices and emotions. He brought all the animals and humans to life so wonderfully that I felt like I was watching a film rather than listening to an audiobook.

Of course I can’t review the audiobook without mentioning Dodie Smith’s writing. I thought it was brilliant and actually very forward thinking with her portrayal of the dogs as being more human than the actual people in the story. Also her ideas about animal furs would have been quite a head of it’s time. I also loved the ways she kept reiterating through Pongo and Missus that it wasn’t right for dogs to bite humans, and that nasty  animals are the product of unhappy homes.

I thoroughly recommend this, especially if you’re new to audiobooks and want to start with something short, as it was only 4 1/2 hours long.

This is my seventh book for the 2019 Library Love Challenge