Download Best Sellers Audiobooks in Classics, European Literature

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Title: The Eternal Husband

Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky

Narrator: Jim Killavey

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-15-08

Publisher: Jimcin Recordings

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 35 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Told from the point of view of a rich and idle man who is confronted by a rival, the husband of his former, and now deceased, mistress, the story concerns the interchanging hatred and love of the two men. The book has both emotional power and an uncompromising insight into the human condition.

Editorial Reviews:

Jim Killavey delivers a dignified performance of The Eternal Husband a novella by revered Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky, author of Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamozov. The wealthy Alexei Ivanovich Velchaninov visits Saint Petersburg, where widower Pavel Pavlovich Trusotsky pays him a surprise visit. The men have a history: Trusotskys deceased wife, Natalia, had an affair with Velchaninov. Whether Trusotsky is aware of this - and that the daughter he has been raising is in actuality Velchaninovs child - is unclear. So begins a thrilling, complex tale about rivalry, love, and hate.

Members Reviews:

Excellent

I've always wanted to read Dostoevsky but the size of his books was a little "off-putting." This was the perfect size for me and was a great psychological study. The reading was good but there was a slight "print-through" echo effect. However I stopped noticing that after a few minutes once the story had grabbed me. Five stars.

The eternal question

The first sections are riveting -- like a truely suspensful tale. the tedium in the middle grows aggravating -- the back and forth between the two male characters, the trickery and the vulnerability of each man. It went on for one chapter too long for my taste. I don't know why Dostoevsky added the "analysis" section and then the added chapter at the end. I have thought about it for the few days since I finished it and still can't figure out exactly what Mr. D. was trying to say ... it sort of escaped me. Good story for long drives, though.

Great story. Well read.

Although not one of his most famous works, this novel is a powerful tale and uses two of Dostoevsky's favorite themes - mental torture and neurosis. It is both captivating and revealing and explores love, guilt, and hatred. An incredible tale by a true master.

The narrator is well suited to the story and does an excellent job.

The Eternal Cuckold

or

Screwed by Love,

or

Husband, I barely cut you,

or

Show me your fair daughters,

or

Laying with your wife,

or

Some men are perpetually drowned by love,

or

Hypochondriacs make the best lovers.

Not my favorite Dostoevsky, but definitely a novella that sticks to you, like a nightshirt after a fever. The big D is dealing with amazing themes: class, love, men, women. In someways it reminds me a bit of Beckett, but instead of Vladamir and Estragon, Dostoevsky gives us Velchaninov and Trusotsky -- and instead of God, there is Woman. See?

OK. I'll use another approach. Velchaninov and Trusotsky are binary stars. They are locked together by a woman, a child, and a strange mutual gravity. Pavel Pavlovich (Trusotsky) is fascinated by Velchaninov, but at the same time repelled by him. Alexei Ivanovich (Velchaninov) can't seem to interact with Pavel Pavlovich without disrupting Pavel's relationships with women (past, present, or future).

Then there are all the women. They would seem to be casualties of their society. Bound to be married by their fathers for money. Destined to be controlled by their husbands. Yeah, in theory. In practice, however, the women seem to be the only ones in control.

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Title: Les Miserables

Author: Victor Hugo

Narrator: Frederick Davidson

Format: Abridged

Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-12-08

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 29 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Hugo describes early 19th-century France with a sweeping power that gives his novel epic stature. Among the most famous chapters are an account of the battle of Waterloo and a description of Valjean's flight through the Paris sewers.

Translated by Charles E. Curtis.

Members Reviews:

Good reader, but no Fantine back story at all.

Fantine's back story, her story ENTIRELY IS LEFT OUT! boooooo

otherwise, good reader. his character voices seem a little strange at first, but he gets better.

Summer Reading

This book really helps with summer reading, the long time that it takes to sit down and read is taken away by this audiobook. I have watered the garden, worked out at the gym, and ridden in cars all the while embracing each word of Les Miserables. You are not missing out on any of the story, yet are also not being thrown too many details. I at first thought the language in this book would overwhelm me, however as a 15 year old this book was easy to comprehend and the story remained interesting as I saw Marius, Jean Valjean, Cosette and Javert's stories collide in a wonderful way. The expressions and voices used in this reading make characters easy to identify and cause little confusion during parts that would otherwise drive me crazy if they were read in a monotone. The variation of the voices also allows for a great picture of expression and allows the listener to gain a much more human and realistic feel of the situation during and throughout the novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook and would recommend it for anyone who is reading the 'James Robinson' translation.

Wonderful Classic

Absolutely wonderfully engaging telling of this classic. I had been put off originally from trying to read this because of the length of the original book, but this abridge version tells the story without leaving you feeling cheated. I am very glad I did listen to this - one of the best stories written, and told well by the narrator.

les miserables abridged

this is my first audio book and i loved it, i now want to listen to the unabidged version.

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Title: Steppenwolf

Author: Hermann Hesse

Narrator: Peter Weller

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-05-08

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 832 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

With its blend of Eastern mysticism and Western culture, Steppenwolf, Hesse' best-known and most autobiographical work, originally published in English in 1929, continues to speak to our souls as a classic of modern literature.

Members Reviews:

I was the Steppenwolf

I believed from the prologue that I was probably the sort of person that Hesse had intended for an audience to this book. When you enter a writer's world... that is to say, the world of a good writer, you are taken away from your own world to experience joys and sorrows of the author's creation. Hesse's world quickly became my own, but Hesse took me a step further. When I was reading the Steppenwolf, I believed that I was the Steppenwolf. Harry Haller was me and I was him.

Haller begins as a sick and sorrowful man, a brilliant man and I became him as I found myself trudging through his life. When Holler, and thus myself, came out the other side of the story, we were healed, healthier and a better people for having made the journey. For me, reading this was less of an accomplishment and more of an apotheosis... a transcendence. I wish I could thank Hesse myself for creating this wonderful little masterpiece.

Save this Hesse novel for your midlife crisis.

There is this bourgeoisie period in every man's life. This midpoint between birth and death where man is trapped alone. Unable to exist in hot or cold of the absolutes he tries to find his way between the extremes in the comfortable center. Fearing life and death, he just exists ... barely. This is not a novel for the young. Just like it is better to save King Lear for late in one's life, it is better to save Steppenwolf for those crisis years of the midlife.

Hesse's novels seem to flirt between the edge of memoir, scripture, prose poem and Eastern philosophy tract. This isn't a book you want to read in a hot bath with scotch in one hand and a razor blade in the other. You will either spill your drink or spill your blood or lose every printed word, the hot water erasing pages and pickling your fingers, toes and time.

There are parts of me that get super irritated by Hesse and parts of me that absolutely love him. It depends, I guess, on what part of me is dominating at the time, which of my selves is dislocated and which is demanding the most.

Somedays, I wonder if I had my druthers I'd be a shepherd and write poetry on rocks. Unfortunately, I am a bourgeoisie bitch cloaking myself in cashmere and not a mangy wolf from the steppes.

Hesse

Back in the 70's when I was in college and the army Herman Hesse had a surge of popularity that was deemed comin of age stories. Back then I read most of his books. I decided to listen to Steppenwolf to see if anything changed, if I had a diferenct perspective. I don't know that I have the answer, Hesse wrote a forward to this book 30 years or so after he wrote it mentioning how the young enjoyed his writing. But he wrote Steppenwolf when he was around 50 and he said that it was as much about finding peace of mind, your placein life than anything. He mentions that each reader gets somthing diffeerent from the story and any author wants his readers to relate to their stories in whatever way workds for them. This is a book for thinkers, I'm one, if you're one you may enjoy this tale.

Profound

This is one of the most profound books I've have ever listened to.

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Title: Crime and Punishment (Audio Connoisseur Edition)

Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett (translator)

Narrator: Charlton Griffin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 24 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-25-08

Publisher: Audio Connoisseur

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 520 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Raskolnikov the intellectual divides humanity into two types: the meek, submissive mass of mankind and the "Supermen". The Nietzschean Superman can violate any law or principle to attain his beneficial ends. Since Raskolnikov has allied himself with the Superman, he intends to prove his superiority by committing a murder without remorse by eliminating an "undesirable" person.

The novel's central question is whether it is justifiable to commit an atrocity in order to improve humanity. Dostoevsky shows us that a person cannot control and direct his life solely with his reason and intellect, that free will is limited. Listen as one of the finest psychological novels ever written unfolds.

Translated by Constance Garnett.

Members Reviews:

Perfect narrator!

Simply amazing narrator! Charlton Griffin, with his mellifluous voice and always-clear perfect diction, breathes new life into this classic Russian novel. He performs every speaker - even women's voices - with artistry, interest, and believability to such an extent that even some of the minor characters (who would ordinarily get lost in the story or seem boring) become interesting. I can't imagine trying to listen to this otherwise long, dark story without the kind of masterful narration that Mr. Griffin gives us. (I will surely seek out all of his narrations!) Anyway, if you are interested in (finally?) delving into this classic, I highly recommend this truly outstanding version!

Involving and convincing.

I had read the book many years ago, but remembered only that I struggled through the difficult literature, often losing the story line. So I bought the Audiobook to listen to it again and have to admit, I was surprised at the ease with wich the narrator relayed the story. The story is not easy to follow, with difficult emotions, thought processes and circumstances to picture in one's imagination. I think the narrator does an excellent job at involving and convincing the listener of these difficult aspects of the book. Raskolnikov (the main character) is an obscure character in even more obscure circumstances. Throughout the events of the book, his emotions and thought processes take the listener on a journey of the human condition focussing on questions that are still relevant and un-answered today. It culminates in an unexpectedly "correct" yet strangely unfortunate ending, leaving the listener with an appetite to know what happened during the remainder of his exile and thereafter.

As for the author, Dostoyevsky, all I can say is that the story could not have been written without deep, real, personal experiences which are difficult to recreate in the way that he does. I would not want to delete a single explanation or description given throughout the story as it would undermine the overall experience.

A true classic, and very satisfactorily relayed.

Fantastic

This audiobook is incredible. The narration is above and beyond any audiobook I've listened to. You surely will not be dissapointed with this one. You feel yourself getting into a criminals mind. Taking every step with him and feeling every emotion. SUBERB. Don't miss this one.

Crime and Punishment

This is my first Dostoevsky experience and I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

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Title: Candide

Author: Voltaire

Narrator: Andrew Sachs

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-29-08

Publisher: CSA Word

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 192 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

On hearing about their often disastrous travels, a listener feels unfortunately less than empathetic, and can't help laughing out loud at this very funny account of the trail our optimistic travellers take, and at their eternal and endearing joy at the world and its potential discoveries.

Read beautifully by Andrew Sachs.

Members Reviews:

WONDERFUL

I join the thousands - millions? - who adore this book. hilarious, skillful and downright stunning, this gripper of a tale mocks the Enlightenment with such wit one cannot put this down!!!!!!

Beautifully performed!

Would you consider the audio edition of Candide to be better than the print version?

The audio edition brings clarity to the multiplicity of characters and the performance animates each one in a memorable way. To me, this makes the audio version compelling in a much different way from the book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

All of the characters are compelling. The pastiche created by the entirety is what makes the work great.

Have you listened to any of Andrew Sachss other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to any other Andrew Sachs performances but plan to.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book is hilarious and, as a result, horrifying because of the compelling and biting satire ensconced within the clever and brilliant writing.

Why the music?

Story was good, narrator, very good; but the musical interludes were too frequent and much too long. The music didn't enhance the experience, but rather seemed out of place

SO glad I picked this up.

I have learned a bit about the French Revolution and I had learned that very much of it was inspired by Voltaire and it made me we want to understand a bit about him. I got this with a pretty good deal and I absolutely adore it. The reading, or should I say acting, is completely superb. The characters all have such wonderful voices that really bring out the characteristics of that person. the attitude, the humor, and the tragedy are so wonderfully displayed in this I really recommend it to anyone who is in the mood for fun, almost satirical poke at the world, and the ways of the human race. I just finished it, and the next book I'm going to listen to? This one. Again.

I was completely enthralled!

To my surprise, I loved it! It wasn't what I was expecting, but it was very interesting and I found myself on the edge of my seat waiting for every next word lol.

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Title: The Divine Comedy

Author: Dante Alighieri

Narrator: Ralph Cosham

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-19-07

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 289 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

One of the greatest works in literature, Dante's story-poem is an allegory that represents mankind as it exposes itself, by its merits or demerits, to the rewards or the punishments of justice. A single listen will reveal Dante's visual imagination and uncanny power to make the spiritual visible.

©1321 Public Domain (P)2007 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Members Reviews:

Excellent Reading, Odd Notes

This is an excellent program, which comes mysteriously, with footnotes. The notes themselves are very useful as any reading of Dante is impossible without a third party to guide you along the first time. Many of the people he meets with along his journey are very, very obscure (not even a professor of Medieval Italian history would know them all from memory). However, the format is not always clear as to when the notes end and the text begins. I have read the Comedy more times than I can remember, but even I was momentarily confused at times as to who was speaking. I wish there was one reader for the text and another for the notes, or that the chapter breaks fell regularly between the notes and the poem itself, if nothing else, for clarity.

Almost Divine

This is an excellent recording that rectifies most of the negatives in the reviews of the other options. It's a great introduction to Dante that will either satisfy your curiosity about "The Divine Comedy" or lead you to more in-depth study afterward.

Having sought a good recording of "The Divine Comedy" for some time, this recent release was welcome. Much of what one likes or dislikes about recordings of classic verse depends on the translation, the narrator, and other variables. This one worked well for me in that I enjoy the narrator (and have bought other recordings because I like his voice), that it is unabridged, and that the translation is pleasing to listen to (although it is prose and does not mimic the original's terza rima).

Each cantica is preceded by an author's note about its structure; each canto has a brief narrative overview. This makes it an excellent choice for first-time readers and/or people who want to read it without devoting a great deal of study to the process. That said, many people would say that "The Divine Comedy" requires a great deal of study,and that a footnoted, print edition is requisite. (I think not, depending upon one's interest, but some of the structure notes -- and biographical references -- would be more accessible in print.) It is perfectly listenable and one need not take a course to grasp the main points and see how it influenced later literature.

My only complaint -- and this is because I listen to several classics over and over -- is that there is no convenient way to listen to it from start to finish without the cantica and canto introductions. After one understands the processions, listening to just the verse would be a nice option.

Nicely Read, Pretty Translation

First and foremost, I like being able to follow along to audio books with my eyes, when possible. This Carlyle-Okey-Wicksteed version is a little obscure, but can be checked out at Open Library. (Note that the book and the audio book don't match up until a few pages in - the audio book skips over the biography information in the first author's note.)

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Title: Crime and Punishment

Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett (translator)

Narrator: Anthony Heald

Format: Unabridged

Length: 20 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-17-07

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1390 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

In this intense detective thriller instilled with philosophical, religious, and social commentary, Dostoevsky studies the psychological impact upon a desperate and impoverished student when he murders a despicable pawnbroker, transgressing moral law to ultimately "benefit humanity".

©1866 Public Domain; (P)2007 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Members Reviews:

Excellent Excellent Excellent!

The book is a classic, so there is not much to say that wasn't already said by someone. I'll turn to the reading...

WOW. This is the best audiobook I've ever listened to. The narrator, Anthony Heald, reads like he is telling the story from his own head, like it's something that happened to him. Amazing. A very very enjoyable listen and highly recommended for all.

I'll definitely try to check other books read by this guy.

Wonderful reading, disturbing book

I didn't realize Anthony Heald was such a brilliant audiobook reader; now that I know, I'll be on the lookout for more titles from him in the future. He takes what I had always thought was a fairly stodgy translation and makes it jump off the page (or in my case, out of the iPod). It's a breathless performance, all the characters clearly differentiated, the narration moving forward rapidly, the novel closing in on the climax of the story with almost unbearable tension. There are at least three hearty laughers in this novel, and in Heald's reading we can tell them all apart instantly.

In this case the tension is moral rather than physical. It's a murder mystery of sorts, but one where we see (and FEEL) the crime being committed: Dostoevsky and Heald put us inside Raskolnikov's mind before, during, and after the double murder at the center of the plot. In this case the problem that drives the story isn't whether the police will catch the killer -- although the novel features a clever and persistent detective worthy of the best of the genre -- but whether the killer can be brought to a point where he has the moral courage to confess.

It's a disturbing book, not because of Raskolnikov's minutely-described act of violence, but because of Dostoevsky's pitiless, unblinking gaze at poverty. I can't remember the last time a description of hunger and hopelessness had such a visceral effect on me. I kept wanting to grab Raskolnikov by the collar and scream "EAT SOMETHING!!"

First rate on all counts. Highly recommended.

Joining my "Greatest Books" list

If you could sum up Crime and Punishment in three words, what would they be?

Murder...torment...resurrection.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the plot and the characters but the narration by Anthony Heald was so outstanding that it's hard to even describe it other than saying it was hypnotizing. More than 20 hours long and I couldn't wait to get back to it each time I had to leave it. Mr.

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Title: The Scarlet Pimpernel

Author: Baroness Orczy

Narrator: Ralph Cosham

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-14-07

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 760 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Some said this man of many disguises, endless ruses, and infinite daring was an exiled French nobleman, returned to wreak vengeance. Others said he was an English lord, seeking sheer adventure and supreme sport in playing the most dangerous game of all. But of only one thing could those who sought him be sure. They knew all too well the symbol of his presence: the blood-red flower known as the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Critic Reviews:

"A swashbuckling adventure tale of epic proportions...an exciting, fast-paced story." (

Large Print Reviews)"Arguably the best adventure story ever published, and certainly the most influential that appeared during the early decades of the 20th century." (Gary Hoppenstand)

Members Reviews:

Good read/good listen

I was a fan of the book long before listening to the audiobook, and I just have to say, wow! This is one of those books where the nationalities of the main characters is critical to keep in mind, and it's hard to do while just reading - the narration really made it pop. Excellently done!

excellent classic and excellent narrator

I really enjoyed this book - had seen the movie but enjoyed hearing all the unabridged details more. Narrator is excellent with french accents - one part at end during chase scene got a little long for me but overall I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Wonderful Story

This is a book I read over and over again. The Scarlet Pimpernel is the perfect romantic hero, as he serves and sacrifices for the many.

Narrator does a great job, though it's not perfectly smooth. But I love his voices and he adds so much to the story.

Not great literature but a great classic

I almost gave this 5 stars -- I really wanted to because it was hugely entertaining for such a quick, light read, but I found Orczy's prose just a little too purple and repetitious at times. She gives great descriptions, and Sir Blakeny's clever disguises and escapes from the French Republicans are great fun to read (if very obvious to the reader), but while this is a worthy classic in the spy/adventure novel genre, it falls short of being a literary masterpiece; Baroness Orczy just is not a Dickens or even a Bronte.

That said, many people - especially if looking for something light to read - may well enjoy Orczy more than one of Dickens's dense multi-layered tomes, or a depressing Bronte novel about dysfunctional Byronic anti-heroes.

The Scarlet Pimpernel is all close calls and daring rescues by the dashing Sir Percy Blakeny, who adopts the persona of a dull-witted playboy but is secretly the Scarlet Pimpernel, leader of a band of English gentlemen who spirit French aristocrats condemned to die by the guillotine out of France. He's kind of like an 18th century superhero, Bruce Wayne in a cravat. His French-born wife, Marguerite, has no idea that her seemingly stupid and inane husband is the heroic figure admired throughout England and despised throughout France. Much of the tension in the novel is marital tension between these two -- Marguerite has done some bad things in the past that she regrets, but she can't explain them to Percy, so he of course doesn't trust her. Never fear, the story has a romantic happy ending.

Again, great fun to read, but Orczy was a bit of a hack as a writer and the story sort of careens from one unlikely escape to another, so don't expect much depth.

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Title: The Three Musketeers

Author: Alexandre Dumas

Narrator: Simon Vance

Format: Unabridged

Length: 22 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-24-07

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 742 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

When the dashing young D'Artagnon arrives in Paris from Gascony, he becomes embroiled in three duels with the Three Musketeers: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. But when he proves himself by fighting not against, but with, the Three Musketeers, they form a quick and lasting friendship. The daring escapades of the four pit them against a master of intrigue, Cardinal Richelieu, and the quintessential wicked woman, Lady de Winter.

Critic Reviews:

"His plots are...rich in characters and adventures." (

Biographical Dictionary of Literary Influences)

Members Reviews:

More fun than a classic is supposed to be!

It doesn't matter what century he hails from, Dumas writes a cracking good tale. His four musketeers are delightful, funny, and quirky. The plot bowls along and keeps you involved right up to the last minute. I think the thing that surprised me most about this book is the fact that no adaptation of it that I have seen (and I have seen many!) really stayed faithful to the plot all the way to the end. The same is true, of course, for the Count of Monte Cristo, and I am sure it is because in both cases the hero does not end up with the heroine, at least, not the one we are expecting! But Dumas has such cinematic pacing that it hardly matters! We are swept along with the heroes and love every minute. Simon Vance is the king of narrators ~ he's just a master ~ and you will love the whole experience, I promise.

A brilliant read.

This is one of my all-time favorite classics. Dumas has a real gift for portraying fallible human nature with humor and insight. The narrator does a great job capturing the characters- d'Artangnan's exuberance, Porthos' thick bluster, Athos' nobility.

Dumas, the grandson of French nobility and son of one of Napolean's generals, has captured 17th-Century French sensibilities and the intrigues of court, courting, and swashbucklery.

The narrative is witty and smart. I blame Disney, et al, for the cheapening of this wonderful, classic work of fiction. I've probably read this book five times and listened to it once, and no doubt will again.

Two thumbs up- way up!

Adventure

A rip-roaring adventure, filled with intrigue and humor, and read with style by Simon Vance. This is one of my favorite audiobooks.

Everything You'd Expect...Which is A Good Thing

Maybe its because Ive seen the 1973 Oliver Reed / Michael York / Frank Findlay / Richard Chamberlain movie repeatedly since high school. Maybe its because, unlike The Count of Monte Cristo, this story is set in the more distant past, a past that has been defined and mythologized in the popular imagination (mine included) by this very story. Or maybe its just that, for all it has in common with Monte Cristoopulence, flamboyance, high dramathis is first and foremost an unapologetically adventuresome adventure story. Whatever the reason, I popped in the ear buds, revved up the mower (or stepped on the train home from work, or cleaned the kitchen) and just enjoyed myself. I didnt expect to be moved mightily and I wasnt. I didnt expect to be overawed by a tour-de-force of the writers art and I wasnt. I did expect to be entertained, and I was, handsomely.

This is not to say I didnt feel a thrill when Athos secret was revealed or cringe at the gradual, artful seduction of Lieutenant Felton or feel empathy for dArtagnans grief.

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Title: War and Peace, Volume 2

Author: Leo Tolstoy

Narrator: Neville Jason

Format: Unabridged

Length: 31 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-27-07

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1200 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

War and Peace is one of the greatest monuments in world literature. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, it examines the relationship between the individual and the relentless march of history. Here are the universal themes of love and hate, ambition and despair, youth and age, expressed with a swirling vitality which makes the book as accessible today as it was when it was first published in 1869.

In addition it is, famously, one of the longest books in Western literature and therefore a remarkable challenge for any reader. Neville Jason read the abridged version of War and Peace and proved his marathon powers with his outstanding performance of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. These make him the ideal narrator to essay Tolstoy's epic.

War and Peace was translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude.

Critic Reviews:

"War and Peace presents us with a complete picture of human life; a complete picture of the Russia of those days; a complete historic picture of the struggle of nations; and a complete picture of the things in which men set their happiness and greatness, their sorrow and their shame." (A.V. Knowles, Tolstoy: The Critical Heritage)

"There remains the greatest of all novelists - for what else can we call the author of War and Peace?" (Virginia Woolf)

Members Reviews:

A long book, but at least the chapters are short

Neville Jason does a good (but not great) job reading this longest of long books. The dialogue, as read, is more dynamic than the narration; and the men are voiced more effectively than the women. (Unfortunately, given the amount of time she spends "onscreen," I found Jason's reading of Natasha to be somewhat shrill.) The Frederick Davidson recording is more dynamic, but Davidson's voice seems to rub a lot of people the wrong way. Jason at least has a smooth and mellow voice, and his reading is clear and unhurried.

This is the Maude translation, and Naxos (and Audible) get five stars for making it available in an attractive and accessible format. There are fourteen books in "War and Peace," plus an epilogue, and the recording is divided by book, with a chapter mark for each chapter: so it's very easy to find your way around and know exactly where you are in the story. The idea that you can get the whole thing for only two credits is amazing.

The book is long, some 70 hours or more, but most of the chapters are short and full of absorbing detail. The chapters that aren't -- where Tolstoy lays out his philosophy of history, or summarizes some of the larger historical context from 50,000 feet -- can probably be skipped without great loss. (To oversimplify, Tolstoy basically seems to be saying that while individuals think they have free will in an individual sense, when you step back and look at events from a larger perspective you see that reality is overdetermined and that what happened was inevitable. He also suggests that the "great man" theory of history is seriously flawed, because all the kings of the earth can't do squat without the individual acts of every single pawn.)

I realize that's heresy, but it would be better to get the story and skip the philosophy than to skip the book altogether. The story itself is incredible.

Way to Go. This Way.

If you are like me and have tried to read this book and given up , then this is the way to go.