This first review is an easy one. There was a series of audiobooks I and my children listened to so often that we had memorized not only the text but the narrator’s intonations. To this day, we will sometimes do an imitation of a phrase or a scene that he made particularly memorable for us.
The Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling were favourites for reading at home. As we spoke French, my children and I would anxiously wait for the French version to come out. Kudos to the translator, Jean-François Ménard! Calling the “sorting hat” le “choixpeau magique” in French shows true word wizardry!
When we discovered Bernard Giraudeau’s audiobook interpretations, we were blown away! We devoured them, from the first to the last. The voices he lent to the characters brought them alive in a way that movies can only hope to imitate. He put raw emotion into the text. His way of “announcing” Quidditch games made me think he would have done well as a sports announcer in the NHL.
He could infuse pathos into a situation or find the funny side of a scene using the great instrument that was his voice. He had the background for it! He was a French actor, film director, scriptwriter, producer and writer. He knew how to make a text truly come alive.
We revelled in the mastery of his work with the first four books. Unfortunately, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Le Coupe de Feu, in French), the fourth of J.K. Rowling’s books, was Bernard Giraudeau’s last. Mr. Giraudeau past away on July 17, 2010. I and my kids searched for years for the next books before realizing that he did not narrate any others in the series.
In 2017, however, another narrator was hired to fill the very big shoes left by Bernard Giraudeau. Dominique Collignon-Maurin narrated the remaining books. I can only imagine what a daunting task that must have been. I believe that Mr. Giraudeau had a faithful following and his listeners were accustomed to hearing “those characters” interpreted “that way”. I was rather apprehensive at first, wondering how I would like the change.
I can honestly say that Dominique Collignon-Maurin’s interpretation was excellent. I am guessing that he must have felt obliged to keep many of the interpretations as they were first developed by Bernard Giraudeau. I imagine it would be easier to create one’s own than try to ensure a faithful rendition that stays true to someone else’s vision. Somehow, Dominique managed to capture much of the spirit of Bernard Giraudeau’s work, while, at the same time, infusing it with his own inimical twists. It was truly a pleasure to listen and once again be transported back to the land of muggles and witches.
I am indebted to the Wikipedia page on Mr. Giraudeau for many of the details in this blog.
Marie’s Audiobooks 