Download Best Sellers Audiobooks in Classics, European Literature

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Title: Doctor Zhivago

Author: Boris Pasternak, Larissa Volokhonsky (translator), Richard Pevear (translator)

Narrator: John Lee

Format: Unabridged

Length: 23 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-14-11

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 262 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of its original publication, here is a new translation of the classic story of the life and loves of a poet/physician during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution.

Taking his family from Moscow to what he hopes will be shelter in the Ural Mountains, Zhivago finds himself instead embroiled in the battle between the Whites and the Reds. Set against this backdrop of cruelty and strife is Zhivagos love for the tender and beautiful Lara: pursued, found, and lost again, Lara is the very embodiment of the pain and chaos of those cataclysmic times.

Critic Reviews:

"This new translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is for the first time based on the authentic original text, reflects the present, deeper level of understanding of the great masterpiece of 20th century Russian literature and conveys its whole artistic richness with all its complexities and subtleties that had escaped the attention of the earlier translators and readers." (Lazar Fleishman, Professor of Russian Literature, Stanford University)

"Without a doubt, their version will become the standard translation of the novel for years to come." (Barry Scherr, Mandel Family Professor of Russian, Dartmouth College)

Members Reviews:

Russian Philosophical Feast

Any additional comments?

This book is so much more than an epic historical love story, but I would never have picked up on it earlier in life. It is a Russian philosophical feast. The women in Zhivago's life clearly portray his feelings about Russia and the social changes that it went through. I'm amazed at how Pasternak was able to do this. The audio version was excellent because it provided a short intro that helped me with the magical /folktale part of the book, and then it had an afterword and a short history on Pasternak's life. Just be prepared for its typical Russian length and repetitiveness on theme / thought. Oh, and the love story is magnificent, too.

Read it for history, not for story about Zhivago..

... and Lara.

This felt more like a history book than a novel. Of course, a well-written and lyrical history book, but still. Like many, I read this because I loved the movie. As others have mentioned, this is nothing like the movie. The primary goal of this novel, it seems, is to tell what life was like during the Revolution. The secondary, or maybe even tertiary, goal of this is to tell the stories of Zhivago and others. Found this very hard to follow. I have to put this book in the "glad I listened to it, but sure didn't enjoy it" category. I've listened to and enjoyed War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Brothers Karamazov, and Crime and Punishment, so I'm not at all adverse to long, philosophical Russian novels.

A wonderfully enjoyable read

My first encounter with the novel was the 1957 Italian translation from the Russian, which I loved. When the 1958 English version came out I had a more difficult time with it, comparing it rather unfavorably with the Italian version. I am happy to say that this audiobook of the new English translation, read so beautifully, is remarkably similar to the Italian version.

It's flowing descriptions of the era, sometimes shocking, rich use of language and sentimentality of the main characters are touching. It is a love story and a history of Russia at the beginning of the last century.

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Title: A Doll's House

Author: Henrik Ibsen

Narrator: Flo Gibson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-13-11

Publisher: Audio Book Contractors, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 20 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Nora, a banker's pampered and petted wife, forges a signature to obtain money for her ailing husband. The play's theme, touting a woman's independence, shocked audiences at the time of its premiere.

Members Reviews:

Great way to get the story

I needed to read this stor for school, and this was a great way to listen to the book on my commute to school. It follows the book closely and helped me greatly.

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Title: Hunger

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Knut Hamsun

Narrator: Kevin Foley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-28-11

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 64 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Knut Hamsun's Hunger, first published in 1890 and hailed as the literary beginning of the 20th century, is a masterpiece of psychologically driven fiction. The story of a struggling artist living on the edge of starvation, the novel portrays the unnamed first-person narrator's descent into paranoia, despair, and madness as hunger overtakes him. As the protagonist loses his grip on reality, Hamsun brilliantly portrays the disturbing and irrational recesses of the human mind through increasingly disjointed and urgent prose. Loosely based on the author's own experiences prior to becoming a successful writer, Hunger announced the arrival of a new kind of novel and heavily influenced such later writers as Kafka and Camus. This edition is the translation by George Egerton.

Critic Reviews:

"After reading Hunger, one can easily understand why Hamsun was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Hunger should appeal to any reader who is interested in a masterpiece by one of this century's great novelists." (James Goldwasser, Detroit News)

Members Reviews:

Book quite good; wrong narrator

The description of the book gives the plot quite well, so I won't repeat it here. The book is very well written, and reminiscent of Dostoevsky or Kafka in its description of a man struggling to keep his self-dignity while losing his grip on reality, in this case due to lack of food. However, I think the book could have been better had there been more of a story or structure to it.

As for the narrator: he's clearly very good, but not the best choice for this book, I'm afraid. I found the following review of his work on another audiobook in AudioFile magazine, and I think it fits my impression perfectly: "Narrator Kevin Foley plods along with a listener-friendly cadence, something like that of a radio newscaster, avoiding high emotion or monosyllabic detachment--professional to the nth degree but adding little to a true and sad tale." I couldn't agree more. Especially in a first person narrative, I think the narrator should show a little more emotion; most of the time, Foley's tone sounds like the voiceover on a nature show, which made it harder to focus on the story. I generally don't like it when audiobook narrators use too much emotion or act the characters, but the narration here is just too detached.

Liked it better when I was 21

Charles Bukowski mentioned "Hunger" and I remember being blown away by it when I read it as an impressionable 21 year old. I re-read it almost two decades later and its not 'all that.' I remember liking Growth of Soil and Pan much, much better. Wish some wild Norwegian would put it on audio.

The greatest Norwegian author of all time

I had a lot of expectations going in to the book, i am from Norway and Hamsun is synonymus with great literature. I wasn't dissapointed at all, the book in itself is great and i also thought that the narrator fitted.

Crazy? Hungry? Both?

The basic problem for me was that the central character, an author in Christiania (Oslo), Norway, just didn't convince me he was really hungry. I guess he was, because his hair was falling out in clumps. At the same time he had such pride and this stopped him from accepting any help offered him. If you are really starving do you refuse food? One thing is clear. He was ether hallucinating, due to a lack of food, or he was quite simply crazy.

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Title: Dead Souls

Author: Nikolai Gogol, C. J. Hogarth (translator)

Narrator: Arthur Morey

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-18-11

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 105 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Chichikov, a mysterious stranger, arrives in a provincial town and visits a succession of landowners to make each a strange offer. He proposes to buy the names of dead serfs still registered on the census, saving their owners from paying tax on them, and to use these "souls" as collateral to reinvent himself as a gentleman. In this ebullient masterpiece, Nikolai Gogol created a grotesque gallery of human types, from the bear-like Sobakevich to the insubstantial fool Manilov, and, above all, the devilish con man Chichikov.

Dead Souls, Russia's first major novel, is one of the most unusual works of nineteenth-century fiction and a devastating satire on social hypocrisy. This version of Dead Souls is the translation by C. J. Hogarth.

Critic Reviews:

"Admired not only for its enduring comic portraits but also for its sense of moral purpose." (Encyclopedia of Literature)

Members Reviews:

Captures absurdity of mid 19th century Russia

An absurd and brilliant satire. To think I avoided reading this novel for years because I thought it was going to be depressing. Ha! Dead Souls reminded me in many ways of the Odyssey + Don Quixote written by Mark Twain in a Russian prose poem. Gogol captures the absurdity of the mid-19th century Russia. Included in Gogol's satire/farce is an absurd and brilliant look at the corruption of the government, the stratification of society, the pretentiousness of the Russian middle-class, etc.

Anyway, the writing was amazing and D.J. Hogarth's translation seems to have held up very well. Arthur Morey narrates this text with both clarity and humor.

Hilarious despite the textual difficulties

I've read a number of Russian authors over the years but for some reason had never read Gogol till I listened to this audiobook. I've been cheating myself. Gogol draws a sharply satirical and (at times) laugh-out-loud funny picture of the dysfunctional Russian society of the early 19th century. As a long-time fan of Arthur Morey, I found his narration congenial and entertaining.

There *are* some difficulties in the book. Some are the result of the translation: it's by C. J. Hogarth, who was active (some info in Wikipedia notwithstanding) in the early years of the 20th century. It's not old-fashioned so much as it is (sometimes) awkwardly literal. Many Russian terms are untranslated. A barin, for example - pronounced here bah-REEN - is a baron. A koliaska is a carriage. A chinovnik is a minor government official. At one point two characters make "osculatory salutations" - in other words, they kiss. It might be helpful to download one of the free ebook editions of the novel; at least one has footnotes explaining many of these terms and other references in the text.

The other major problem is that the novel is unfinished. The first part is intact and more or less complete in itself, but the second part has a number of significant gaps. As much as I like Morey's narration in general, I think it's a fair criticism, as others have said here, that he jumps over some of the gaps in the text without sufficient pause.

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Título: Niebla [Fog]

Autor: Miguel de Unamuno

Narrador: Jesus Rois Frey

Formato: Unabridged

Duración: 5 hrs and 50 mins

Idioma: Español

Fecha de publicación: 02-10-11

Editor: Audiomol

Calificaciones: 4.5 de 5 de 36 votos

Categorías: Classics, European Literature

Resumen del editor:

La novela narra la situación de Augusto Pérez, un joven rico licenciado en Derecho. Hijo único de Madre viuda, a la muerte de su madre no halla qué hacer con su vida hasta que un día, paseando sin rumbo, conoce a una guapa joven pianista, Eugenia Domingo del Arco de la que se enamora o cree enamorarse y cuya amistad trata de conseguir, cosa que efectivamente logra. Conoce a la familia de ella, que es también huérfana y vive con sus tíos, don Fermín, un anarquista místico, y doña Hermelinda. Su cortejo es al comienzo rechazado por Eugenia, quien aclara a Augusto que ella ya tiene un novio, llamado Mauricio. Ante la respuesta de Eugenia, Augusto entabla una relación amorosa con una de sus sirvientas ocasionales, la señorita que le planchaba, Rosario. Después de algunas peripecias, Eugenia, movida, al parecer, por los celos, el instinto de competencia, y un quiebre con Mauricio, decide aceptar a Augusto como novio y futuro esposo.

Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.

Opiniones de los miembros:

Not a good story but very good philosophy

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes I learned a lot of Unamuno's philosophy which even being complicated is quite profound

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Sad

What aspect of Jesus Rois Freys performance would you have changed?

He is very week and does not know where he wants to go. He has not clear goals

Could you see Niebla [Fog] being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No, unless the complicated philosophy is changed ant then the reason of the book will not be there

Enchanting

Beautifully written and with an uncommon end. Deep, poetic, beautiful and in some parts near craziness,

but above all admirably enjoyable.

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Title: The Red and the Black

Author: Stendhal

Narrator: Bill Homewood

Format: Unabridged

Length: 22 hrs and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-04-11

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 66 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Young Julien Sorel, the son of a country timber merchant, carries a portrait of his hero, Napoleon Bonaparte, and dreams of military glory. A brilliant career in the Church leads him into Parisian high society, where, "mounted upon the finest horse in Alsace", he gains high military office and wins the heart of the aristocratic Mlle Mathilde de la Mole. Julien's cunning and ambition lead him into all sorts of scrapes, but it is the struggle between his passion for two beautiful women - the quixotic Mathilde and the loyal Mme de Rênal - which ultimately decides his destiny.

Members Reviews:

Why?

I read this book as assigned reading for a literature class. I finished reading it. I do not know why. Until the teacher explains that to me, my conjecture is that this helps understand the development of novel writing. I cannot think of any other possible reason to read it in 2018. Perhaps my evaluation says more about me than it does about the book.

Slow and wordy

No, I did not like this book. I disliked the intertwining of its two central themes, one being a criticism of French Bourbon society after the fall of Napoleon and the crazy, unbelievable love affairs. The writing becomes more and more absurd the further you progress into the novel. The language is old-fashioned, formal, complicated and wordy. I was bugged to no end by the excessive use of etcetera and etcetera over and over again. Perhaps that was a translation problem? I am not sure.

The book is extremely slow, even if it does pick speed as it nears the end only to fall again to turtle velocity at the conclusion.

This is a book of satire and by the end the author's "message" has been pounded into you. Events become absurdly ridiculous. I preferred the more subtle humor at the beginning. The question is - did I ever really laugh? No.

I must repeat my earlier statement found below: if this is a book that is supposed to offer a psychological study of characters, why are my feelings toward Julien, the main character, only lukewarm?

The famed actor Bill Homewood narrated the audiobook I listened to. The French pronunciation was fine but I disliked his added dramatics, even if perhaps he was merely exaggerating what the author intended to be exaggerated.

So I did not enjoy the humor, or the wordy writing, or the incredible romances. I will neither be listening to Homewood again nor reading more books by Stendhal.

****************************************

Two-thirds through the audiobook:

This is v-e-r-y slow.

Be prepared for a multitude of pontificating old men.

The language is old-fashioned and formal; it was written in 1830 and is concerned with the upper-classes of French society after the defeat of Napoleon.

What is important above all else is your class. Will Julien Sorel be able to escape his class? He is intelligent. He is ambitious.

And then there are scandalous love affairs....involving not only Julien but an older woman who really ought to know better because she at least has the experience of age! More importantly, the author's lines do not make me feel either Julien's or her passion.

I do not empathize with any character. I do not dislike Julien, but I dislike what he is aspiring to.

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Title: The Wealth of Nations

Author: Adam Smith

Narrator: Gildart Jackson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 36 hrs and 47 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-11-11

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 616 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The foundation for all modern economic thought and political economy, The Wealth of Nations is the magnum opus of Scottish economist Adam Smith, who introduces the world to the very idea of economics and capitalism in the modern sense of the words. Smith details his argument in five books:

Taken together, these books form a giant leap forward in the field of economics. A product of the "Age of Enlightenment," The Wealth of Nations is a must for all who wish to gain a better understanding of the principles upon which all modern capitalistic economies have been founded and the process of wealth creation that is engendered by those principles.

Members Reviews:

Loved the Narrator

The writings herein is brought forth with great workmanship of speech. Recording was wonderful and enjoyable through all 5 books.

Amazingly accessible

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. I had thought the Smith had anticipated much of our current understanding of the way markets function. Instead, he had all of the fundamentals figured out. I was fearing that it would be quite obscure in topic and language, but found it pleasantly accessible, if perhaps a bit long.

As as reading the classics, I would definitely recommend this.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The market.

What about Gildart Jacksons performance did you like?

It fit the material.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The Way Your World Works

ADAM SMITH

The Wealth of Nations is often referred to but rarely read or listened to in the 21st century. Thirty Six hours of an audio book is punishing. However, one is surprised by Adam Smiths prescient understanding of the value of freedom and his appreciation of American and British conflict over American colonization. The Wealth of Nations is not only about economics. It is about politics as an essential ingredient of economics.

Visiting The Wealth of Nations is a worthwhile journey into history. One wondersIs there a 21st century Adam Smith in Americas future or is he/she pottering around Asia, Europe, the Middle East, or Africa and not yet recognized? Is there an alternative to free market capitalism that insures freedom and offers prosperity?

Simply a classic. Much better audio this time.

A couple of years ago, I purchased this title and really struggled with the quality of the audio. This newer edition is much better. As for the content, it is what it is. A classic that is the foundations to our current understanding of economics. It has great historical value but is not really an easy read. For me, its just something I had to get being an avid student in economics. I won't be giving a review of the subject matter since it is what it is and many have done much better that i could ever do. Just wanted to say this version has great audio!

Long but worth it

What did you love best about The Wealth of Nations?

After hearing about Adam Smith and he being quoted time and time again, I finally decided to give him a listen, because I knew that I would not have the time or dedication to make through the book. I had built up my listening stamina through the years i have had Audible and began the journey.

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Título: Una partida de Ajedrez [A Game of Chess]

Autor: Stefan Zweig

Narrador: Víctor Prieto

Formato: Unabridged

Duración: 2 hrs and 45 mins

Idioma: Español

Fecha de publicación: 12-15-10

Editor: NEAR, S.A.

Calificaciones: 4 de 5 de 7 votos

Categorías: Classics, European Literature

Resumen del editor:

Stefan Zweig nació en Viena, Austria, el 28 de noviembre de 1881 hijo de una familia judía acomodada. Estudió en la Universidad de Viena en la que obtuvo el título de doctor en Filosofía. A lo largo de su vida, Zweig viajó por multitud de países y mantuvo amistad con los grandes intelectuales de su tiempo. Durante la primera guerra mundial tuvo que exiliarse en Zurich a causa de sus ideas pacifistas. De 1919 a 1935 Zweig residió en Salzburgo. En 1935 se exilió en Inglaterra. Durante la segunda guerra mundial se refugió en Brasil. Convencido de la victoria de Hitler y con ella, de la destrucción de los valores culturales europeos, se suicidó, junto a su esposa en Petrópolis, Brasil, el 22 de febrero de 1942. Stefan Zweig es, sin duda, uno de los grandes escritores del siglo XX, y su obra ha sido traducida a más de cincuenta idiomas. ¿Por qué han tenido tanto éxito sus obras? Según Zweig: el éxito de mis libros proviene de que soy un lector impaciente. Sólo un libro que se mantiene siempre, página tras página sobre su nivel y que arrastra al lector hasta la última línea sin dejarle tomar aliento, me proporciona un perfecto deleite.

Una partida de Ajedrez es, una reflexión sobre la neurosis, a través de la pérdida de cordura de un hombre a manos de la Gestapo. La acción transcurre en un barco, rumbo a Buenos Aires. En él viaja el campeón del mundo de ajedrez Mirko Czentovicz, al que McConnor, un acaudalado hombre de negocios, reta a una partida. Durante el juego, otro pasajero, el doctor B comienza a sugerir movimientos. Entonces sabemos que este doctor B huye de los nazis, que lo han mantenido encerrado en una casa durante meses, aislado, sin poder hablar con nadie aparte de sus vigilantes. El robo de un libro sobre ajedrez le permitió ocupar su mente en algo y liberarse del vacío intelectual de su cautiverio. Así, comenzó a repasar, una y otra vez, las grandes partidas de la historia, hasta alcanzar estados febriles. Pero esta única ocupación mental, que lo liberó del vacío, terminará por convertirse en una neurosis aún mayor que la de su encierro. Zweig huye de toda descripción superflua, y de diálogos extensos. Su cuidada técnica literaria destaca en la construcción psicológica de los personajes.

Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.

Opiniones de los miembros:

Excelente novela corta

Una breve, pero excelente novela, que hace sentir lo que puede suceder en la mente de los grandes maestros del ajedrez.

La narración es aceptable, aunque la constante música de fondo distrae la atención y llega a cansar.

Mucho ruido de fondo

no me gustó, básicamente por la música de fondo, la cual impide escuchar por momentos los diálogos, tal vez sin este ruido de fondo se aprecie mejor.

Loved it

Classic story, first time I hear it. Loved every minute of it! Chess will always fascinate, and this story has no boring parts. Amazing how much content you can put info "a game of chess".

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Title: The Cossacks

Author: Leo Tolstoy

Narrator: David Thorn

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-29-10

Publisher: Alcazar AudioWorks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 71 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Tolstoy's first novel and acknowledged as one of his best. The Cossacks is based on Tolstoy's own forays into the Caucasus, abandoning his aristocrat life of gambling and carousing in Moscow and volunteering to be attached to the regular army. Leo Tolstoy's firsthand insight to the magnificent landscape and the colorful Cossack way of life is lushly descriptive, in a text translated from his manuscript by close friends.

Olenin is an aimless young nobleman who is disenchanted with city life. Taking a post as a Cadet in the army, he finds himself assigned to the remote Cossack outpost in the Caucasus. It is here, among the Tatars, the Chechens, and the Old Believers, that he will fall in love with a beautiful Cossack girl. The only problem is that she is promised to a Cossack warrior.

In the setting of what is present-day Kazakhstan, Tolstoy examines two psychological problems. The first is the dilemma of a young man who desires both fulfilling love and a place as a respected member of society. The other is the difficulty of a primitive society to accept domination by a higher culture that has no understanding of the traditions it asks its colonists to cast aside.

Leo Tolstoy (18281910) was born in 1828 about two hundred miles from Moscow. His mother died when he was two, his father when he was nine. His parents were of noble birth, and Tolstoy remained acutely aware of his aristocratic roots, even when he later embraced doctrines of equality and the brotherhood of man. After serving in the army in the Caucasus and Crimea, where he wrote his first stories, he traveled and studied educational theories.

In 1862 he married Sophia Behrs and for the next fifteen years lived a tranquil, productive life, finishing War and Peace in 1869 and Anna Karenina in 1877. In 1879 he underwent a spiritual crisis. Tolstoy then sought to propagate his beliefs on faith, morality, and nonviolence, writing mostly parables, tracts, and morality plays. He died of pneumonia in 1910 at the age of eighty-two.

Members Reviews:

Tolstoy masterpiece is wounded by terrible audio

This is one Tolstoy that is easily overlooked, but shouldn't be missed. It combines Tolstoy's philosophy with his religious moralizing with his love of the land and the simplicity of nature and those close to it. The novel explores the nature of happiness, the purpose of life, and Tolstoy's particular interest in rural life vs the more urbane Moscow/Saint Petersburg society.

This minor masterpiece is full of Tolstoy's fascination with the Cossacks (both men and women) and the Chechen braves (abreks), his love of the mountains, rivers, and flora and fauna of the Caucuses. There is part of it that reminded me a lot of an early Hemingway novel: a war, women, real men, horses and lots of food and drink. Again, if you've read 'War & Peace' and 'Anna Karenina' and are looking for another good Tolstoy, this is a solid piece (it happened to be Turgenev's favorite Tolstoy novel).

The major problem with this audiobook is the audio quality. The transitions (I think its a balalaika) is too loud and doesn't quite work. The narrator sounds distant and muffled like he read the entire novel with a 20 gallon paint gallon on his head.

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Title: The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov

Author: Vladimir Nabokov

Narrator: Arthur Morey

Format: Unabridged

Length: 31 hrs and 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-22-10

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 73 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

From Vladimir Nabokov, the writer who shocked and delighted the world with his novels Lolita, Pale Fire, and Ada, or Ardor, comes a magnificent collection of stories. Written between the 1920s and the 1950s, these 68 tales 14 of which have been translated into English for the first time - display all the shades of Nabokovs imagination. They range from sprightly fables to bittersweet tales of loss, from claustrophobic exercises in horror to a connoisseurs samplings of the table of human folly. Read as a whole, The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov

offers an intoxicating draft of the masters genius, his devious wit, and his ability to turn language into an instrument of ecstasy.

This edition includes the newly discovered story Natasha.

Critic Reviews:

Sumptuous . . . glorious. (The New York Times)

"Some of the most nape-tingling prose and devilish inventions in twentieth-century letters. . . . An authentic literary event. (Time)

Members Reviews:

No discernable beginning or end to the stories.

I love Nabokov, especially his short stories, but this production stinks. You can't tell when one story ends and another begins, and I kept on finding myself zoning out while I was listening. For me, a very bad sign with an audiobook. I would happily try this again with another narrator and another production company.

A Kaleidoscope of Nabokov Bábochkas

In someways reading/listening to Nabokov's stories is like swimming in a turbulent river of all his great themes (doppelgängers, the creative process, loss, nostalgia for Russia, the individual, obsession, dreams/reality, etc).

While there were some stories that were masterpieces, the strength of this book really is the ability it gives the Nabokov enthusiast to easily see the development of a great writer from the early 20s to the late 50s.

One only needs to read 'Terra Incognita' to see the seeds of his novel 'Ada: or Ardor'. This collection is a must for those who adore Nabokov, but also an interesting introduction to Nabokov for those whose only exposure may be "Lolita'.

Here are the stories as they appear in this collection:

IN RUSSIAN

"The Wood-Sprite"

"Russian Spoken Here"

"Sounds"

"Wingstroke"

"Gods"

"A Matter of Chance"

"The Seaport"

"Revenge"

"Beneficence"

"Details of a Sunset"

"The Thunderstorm"

"La Veneziana"

"Bachmann"

"The Dragon"

"Christmas"

"A Letter That Never Reached Russia"

"The Fight"

"The Return of Chorb"

"A Guide to Berlin"

"A Nursery Tale"

"Terror"

"Razor"

"The Passenger"

"The Doorbell"

"An Affair of Honor"

"The Christmas Story"

"The Potato Elf"

"The Aurelian"

"A Dashing Fellow"

"A Bad Day"

"The Visit to the Museum"

"A Busy Man"

"Terra Incognita"

"The Reunion"

"Lips to Lips"

"Orache"

"Music"

"Perfection"

"The Admiralty Spire"

"The Leonardo"

"In Memory of L. I.