Download Best Sellers Audiobooks in Classics, European Literature

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Scarlet Pimpernel

Author: Baroness Orczy

Narrator: Stephen Crossly

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-31-13

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 183 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The French Revolution is at the height of its fury. Daily, hundreds of aristocratic heads fall from the guillotine. Emotions run high, and anyone suspected of sympathy toward the nobility is in mortal danger. Only one man is daring enough to lead a small band against popular opinion - the Scarlet Pimpernel. Using masterful disguises and clever strategies, the Scarlet Pimpernel smuggles noblemen and women from France to safety in England. His success is a thorn in the side of the Revolution. As he vanishes from each escapade, he leaves no trace behind except an image of the colorful flower that is his emblem. The Scarlet Pimpernel must be stopped at all costs. But who is he?

This enduring classic is filled with wonderful layers of intrigue and dashing courage. As the cunning hero, and the beautiful woman who loves him, move toward a final victory, the quickened pace is enhanced by Steven Crossleys dramatic narration.

Members Reviews:

A great classic to listen to!

Great story - narrator did a good job in personifying the various characters. Only slightly bit of irritation is narrator often had to swallow now and then a little too close to the mic (but it was well read overall).

The Scarlet Pimpernel, title of series for a reaso

What did you love best about The Scarlet Pimpernel?

The setting, characters, the fact it turned out to be as much a romance as an adventure.

What other book might you compare The Scarlet Pimpernel to and why?

Other in the series, but not all. Those that concentrate on the main characters, in fact those that have the main characters in them.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was good, done by a men, however he did Marguerite with a French accent. In all productions I have seen or hear she has never had a French accent. It was most distracting. Spoiled the narration. Yes I know she is French but just sounds better without the accent.

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

I love the book and have read it before and although the narration was good at time's Marguerite French accent was disturbing.

Any additional comments?

Would recommend the book not this audio version.

Sink me, if this isn't a fantastic read!

If you could sum up The Scarlet Pimpernel in three words, what would they be?

Betrayal, Fox-Spies, and love.

Which character as performed by Stephen Crossly was your favorite?

Chauvelin was by far my favorite, but Percy and Marguerite were both done fantastically well. I think this is my favorite portrayal of them. Stephen Crossly is a wonderful reader, and! He is one of the few readers to voice Lady Marguerite, who is French, with a French accent. Wonderful!

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

When faced with an impossible choice...what would you choose?

Any additional comments?

Very much a wonderful listen. I'm more than pleased with this book.

Fantastic!

What a pleasure to listen to! By far the very best narration of The Scarlet Pimpernel that I've listened to. This is my first audiobook from Stephen Crossly, but it certainly won't be my last. I'll be listening to this one again and again.

Well read.

Good, wholesome, fun. Lovely accents and voices. A bit and expectedly dramatic, and unexpectedly antimodern.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Author: Jules Verne

Narrator: Peter Husmann

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-24-13

Publisher: Trout Lake Media

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1399 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Jules Vernes classic underwater tale.

A mysterious sea monster, theorized by some to be a giant narwhal, is sighted by ships of several nations; an ocean liner is also damaged by the creature. The United States government finally assembles an expedition to track down and destroy the menace. Professor Pierre Aronnax, a noted French marine biologist and narrator of the story, master harpoonist Ned Land, and Aronnax's faithful assistant Conseil join the expedition.

After much fruitless searching, the monster is found, and the ship charges into battle. During the fight, the ship's steering is damaged, and the three men are thrown overboard. They find themselves stranded on the "hide" of the creature, only to discover to their surprise that it is a large metal construct. They are quickly captured and brought inside the vessel, where they meet its enigmatic creator and commander, Captain Nemo.

Members Reviews:

A classic that everyone should read.

This book was $2, and well worth it. I read the book 20 years ago, but decided to listen to it again. Buy the book and don't use the credit though. It will be the best $2 you spend on audible.

Written over 100 years ago it accurately predicts submarines, deep sea diving and other technologies. The narration by Peter Hausmann is great and the story can't be beat. I could write more, but at $2 try it for yourself.

A difficult story plagued by a terrible reader

This experience probably would have been much more enjoyable with a different reader. Verne can already be a little dull especially once he starts going off on his lists of every creature that swims, floats, or crawls through the ocean, or the average salinity of any given body of water, but Husmann's monotone almost metallic reading made it almost unbearable. I questioned several times if it was a robot reading but the occasional wheezing assured me there was in fact a human behind the mic. The pauses between chapters were also incredibly long, so much so, that I would check to see if my player had stopped every time.

The story is a classic but not my favorite. If you must read a Verne book I suggest "The Mysterious Island".If you must read this book I suggest any other recording.

Great translation, so-so narration

I tried very hard to like this audiobook, because it uses the best public domain translation of Verne's masterpiece currently available: the first version of F. P. Walter's translation, which is available on Gutenberg and elsewhere. (Walter has since re-translated the book in a copyrighted anthology called "Amazing Journeys: Five Visionary Classics." This anthology is THE place to start if you're just getting interested in Verne. It's available from Amazon in both paper and Kindle versions and includes many illustrations from the original French editions.) Walter's translation is clear, accurate, and idiomatic.

Unfortunately, Peter Husmann's narration falls short on a couple of key points. First - and I admit this may be subjective - he sounds like he's outside the novel looking in, rather than "inhabiting" it. His tone is slightly condescending, as if he's talking down to the listener. He's reading the book out loud, not telling the story. It may be that this was a conscious choice aimed at making the book more accessible to younger readers, but I didn't enjoy it.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Beowulf

Author: Seamus Heaney (translator)

Narrator: George Guidall

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-11-13

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 82 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Written a thousand years ago, this long poem is the very first surviving piece of English literature. Join Beowulf, a young warrior, as he achieves glory by fighting and killing three fantastic monsters. This new translation, by the Nobel laureate poet Seamus Heaney, offers modern listeners an accessible, intensely dramatic text. It amply demonstrates why this epic has spread its influence over more than a millennium of literature.

Members Reviews:

Almost perfect

Seamus Heaney's version of "Beowulf" is a wonder, a totally modern translation of the poem that somehow manages to sound like it's been around for a thousand years. For a long time, his translation was only available on Audible in a badly abridged version - badly abridged even though it was read by Heaney himself: enough of the story was cut that some passages were incomprehensible. Recorded Books has had this complete version for several years, and it's finally available on Audible as well.

If we can't have Heaney doing the whole thing, George Guidall is a great alternative: he has a deep, rich, old-soul-sounding voice that works beautifully on this kind of epic verse. (See "Gilgamesh" and "The Inferno" for other examples.) This is, in my opinion, the best version of this work available in audiobook format. Bear in mind, though, that I've been a fan of the poem for many years, and have read at least some of it in the original (in an undergraduate Old English course forty years ago). My recommendation may be less useful for someone trying to get a first-time gist of the story. I honestly don't know how this would come across to someone who'd never heard the story before.

If you want another interesting treat, listen to Guidall giving the other side of the story, in the audiobook version of "Grendel" by the late lamented John Gardner.

Beowulf as it should be enjoyed!

What a great way to review (or meet!) Beowulf! Heaney's translation is fantastic, and while I'd love to hear a Irishman, a Dane, or a Scotsman read it, Guidall is skilled if neutral. The inclusion of the introduction at the end is surprising (why not include it at the start?) but fantastic, and helps enrich the whole experience. I've read and taught Beowulf before, but I never really enjoyed its story fully until I listened to it. HIGHLY recommended. Yup, even the middle section while they're all boasting and trading loot. Listen to this and skip the terrible cartoony version with Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mom!

One of the greatest tales of loss ever written

Any additional comments?

The way the author tells the story powerfully expresses what it must have felt like when, during those same times, they watched their mighty pagan traditions of honor and bravery set out to sea forever, then to be replaced by the new culture of Christianity.

If you read it, make sure you also read J.R.R. Tolkein's "The Monsters and The Critics." The whole essay brings new insights to the story; my particular favorite part was his metaphorical statement that Beowulf is a story of youth and old age, the rising and setting of life, and the embracing of the dragon that comes for us all.

Excellent narration by George Guidall

Translated by Seamus Heaney and beautifully narrated by George Guidall.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Ulysses

Author: James Joyce

Narrator: Donal Donnelly

Format: Unabridged

Length: 42 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-11-13

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 164 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The first authorized, unabridged release of this timeless classic and exclusively available from Recorded Books. Ulysses records the events of a single day, June 16, 1904, in Dublin, Ireland.

Members Reviews:

Masterful performance. Forty hours of poetry.

I tried (and failed) several times to comprehend what was touted as perhaps the finest novel in the English language. I had given up until I heard, rather than tried to read Ulysses. Now I understand: the epic courage it takes to survive the death of a child (Bloom's and Molly's son Rudy) played out iin a single Dublin day. Beyond moving.. Everyone who has given up on Ulysses deserves a chance to get it. Thanks to the Joyce family, the narrator and Recorded Books.

Outstanding reading of Ulysses by James Joyce

If you could sum up Ulysses in three words, what would they be?

Deepens the experience

What other book might you compare Ulysses to and why?

Homer's Odyssey -- it has as intricate plot and more - of course Joyce based his novel on the Odyssey - I also enjoyed the Odyssey as an outstanding Audiobook

What about Donal Donnellys performance did you like?

Donal Donnelly understands the book and conveys its meaning magnificently

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No - stretch it out - and let it sink in

Any additional comments?

I have wanted to enjoy Ulysses for over 40 years -- this Audiobook has at last made it possible -- reading the Audiobook with the text in front of me enriches the experience further -- it is one of the profounder experiences of life and that is a fact -- thanks for bringing it to me!

A masterly performance

Ulysses is one of those books of which you tend to feel you should read it, if you're at all interested in literature. But many of us readers fail to get very far. I tried several times. Encouraged myself by going to a (fantastic) course, which helped a lot. But it was this audiobook that really got me right into Ulysses, loving it, admiring it and then returning with much better understanding to the written word. I am now a total fan of Ulysses, intend to read other works by Joyce (Portrait of the Artist, As a Young Man and The Dubliners) and I also intend to read this book and listen to the audiobook over and over again. In fact, I will start my own Bloomsday tradition and start from the beginning once a year on June 16.

Ulysses is Life

Any additional comments?

Ulysses is a big long book with a lot of words and it hurts when you drop it on your toe. Mind you, Ulysses isn't the first book I've dropped on my toe: A King James Bible, my family's Masonic Bible (which is exactly like the King James version except the word God had been completely edited out), Gravity's Rainbow (unironically), and The Unbearable Lightness of Being whose sharp corner wounded my little toe. However, aside from Pynchon, I've read every book that has fallen on my foot and so I have now moved on from being a person who has not read Ulysses to that rare breed of a bore who has. I now belong to a group that not even Joyce belonged to because, according to my edition's afterword, once the novel was printed (aside from some very minor errata) he finally gave up and stopped editing (and thus reading) the text all together.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Count of Monte Cristo

Author: Alexandre Dumas

Narrator: Alan Munro

Format: Unabridged

Length: 57 hrs and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-13-12

Publisher: Trout Lake Media

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 225 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

An adventure story primarily concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy, and forgiveness, it focuses on a man who is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes from jail, acquires a fortune and sets about getting revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment. However, his plans have devastating consequences for the innocent as well as the guilty.

Considered a literary classic today, The Count of Monte Cristo has become a fixture of Western literature, as inescapable and immediately identifiable as Mickey Mouse, Noah's flood, and the story of Little Red Riding Hood.

Complete and unabridged; a 55-hour epic adventure!

Members Reviews:

Great story, awful narrator.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He was reading like William Shatner speaks in Family Guy. Pauses where there are none, the intonation way off. Dear.......friendwould..........youlikesome.........wine?

Absolutely awful narrator!

This book wasnt for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

No one. The narrator was just awful.

What didnt you like about Alan Munros performance?

He read very robotic, as if "Text-to-speach" was enabled, instead of an actual person telling the story.

A distracting performance for a good story

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator had unnatural pauses and a cadence which was totally distracting. Perhaps that is why this version was only about two dollars.

Distracting

The readers pacing and voice acting was so distracting that I decided not to finish it

mediocre reading saved by fantastic story

this story is incredible. the reading however is not great. I got used to it.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Trial

Author: Franz Kafka, Mike Mitchell (translator)

Narrator: Scott Brick

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-16-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 86 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

One of the great works of the 20th century, Kafka's The Trial has been read as a study of political power, a pessimistic religious parable, or a crime novel where the accused man is himself the problem. In it, a man wakes up one morning to find himself under arrest for an offence which is never explained. Faced with this ambiguous but threatening situation, Josef K. gradually succumbs to its psychological pressure.

One of the iconic figures of modern world literature, Kafka writes about universal problems of guilt, responsibility, and freedom. He offers no solutions, but provokes his listeners to arrive at meanings of their own. Mike Mitchell's translation captures Kafka's distinctive style. Based on the best available German text, it includes not only the main text but the chapters Kafka left incomplete.

Members Reviews:

Was my unabridged audible book missing a charpter?

Any additional comments?

My version of the audible book ended with K. driving off to see his mother - no resolution to anything. Everything was still open. Did I get the complete book? It was supposed to be unabridged.

questions are better than answers

What can be said about this book that hasn't already. I think listening to compared to reading would far better as it gets tedious in points. It's a tedious by design however which makes the story brilliant.

Check out Night Vale, it's a free podcast (sorry Audible) which plays with the same kind of weird but normal world Kafka masters.

Not happy with this story

I thought this would have been a little more philosophical but it ended up being a metaphor for life I think. Nothing earth breaking and in time boring.

The Trial: Lost in a Sea of Pretentious Fishes.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I am entirely convinced that the point of this book went totally over my head and I completely missed it. I swam in a sea of surrealism laced with pretentious fishes, got really lost and drowned in it.

Has The Trial put you off other books in this genre?

It hasn't put me off of books from this genre. Classics are always going to have amazing stories and sometimes you're going to come across one that you just don't understand why everyone makes such a big deal about it.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Scott Brick?

Yes. Scott Brick is a very good narrator, well paced and an interesting, well spoken voice.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was disappointed. I had been lead to believe this was one of the greats. I found it to be really pretentious and boring. It failed to grip me and I could have been listening to something else but for me Classics are books that should be read by everyone, so that they can be discussed and debated. So really I am glad to have read it so I can have an opinion on it but unfortunately it will be a negative one.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Sorrows of Young Werther

Author: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Narrator: Jim Donaldson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-26-12

Publisher: Trout Lake Media

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 79 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The Sorrows of Young Werther was Goethe's first major success, turning him from an unknown into a celebrated author practically overnight. Napoleon Bonaparte considered it one of the great works of European literature. He thought so highly of it that he wrote a soliloquy in Goethe's style in his youth and carried Werther with him on his campaigning to Egypt. It also started the phenomenon known as the "Werther-Fieber" ("Werther Fever") which caused young men throughout Europe to dress in the clothing style described for Werther in the novel.

Werther made Goethe one of the first international literary celebrities. Towards the end of his life, a personal visit to Weimar became crucial to any young man's tour of Europe. Werther was an important novel of the Sturm und Drang period in German literature, and influenced the later Romantic literary movement.

Members Reviews:

Believe the hype

For a meditative, melancholy book that inspired copycat suicides in its heyday -- nearly two an a half centuries ago -- this book absolutely holds up.

Literature and art of all kinds in this vein risk coming off as petulant, whiny, and -- in modern parlance -- "emo"; but this book avoids those pitfalls and achieves -- and maintains -- an insightful, touching, and brilliant narrative.

Timeless and heartbreakingly relatable.

This reminds me of an ex-boyfriend...or two

Girls, how many times have you had this, or a similar, conversation?

Him: But, why?

You: Because, I just don't like you that way.

Him: But how do you know? You haven't even given me a chance.

This is usually followed by begging and pleading, late night phone calls "just to hear your voice" and random flowers showing up at your doorstep. It would seem that boys haven't changed much in a couple hundred years. Or maybe it's just me and I shouldn't have dated all those moody artists in college.

The above is the basic story in this book. It was written in 1774 by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. This book was an artistic expression of his own life. He had become infatuated with a woman named Charlotte, who rejected him and married someone else. The Sorrows of Young Wether is an epistolary novel, written in letters, all from the main character, Werther, to his good friend, Wilhelm. The letters read like a diary, becoming increasingly disturbed as Wether's hopes of winning over Charlotte become more remote.

Jim Donaldson is a great narrator. His performance becomes more and more emotional as the book progresses, following along with the characters moods, until he sounds like he's a crying, blubbering mess. He makes you really see the emotions. But it is somewhat uncomfortable to listen to.

Historically Interesting but no Faust

This was an interesting and a very influential example of Storm & Stress proto-romanticism and of early Goethe. The narration was also very good, but I did not find this work as timeless or moving as Faust or later classical romantic novels. I found the characters and situations quite overdone, like an eighteenth century soap opera. If you like flawed and tragic romantic heroes perhaps you will enjoy this story. I really liked the brief Ossian poems near the end.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Balzac, The Girl with the Golden Eyes

Author: Emily Allen

Narrator: Emily Allen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-15-12

Publisher: The Great Courses

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

A merciless critique of the Parisian upper crust in the mid-18th century, The Girl with the Golden Eyes is Balzac at his finest. After gaining background on the authors style and subject matter, delve into reasons this particular work - more than any of his others - makes for a masterful days read.

©2012 The Great Courses (P)2012 The Great Courses

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Guermantes Way

Subtitle: Remembrance of Things Past, Volume 3

Author: Marcel Proust

Narrator: Neville Jason

Format: Unabridged

Length: 28 hrs and 51 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-04-12

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 136 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Remembrance of Things Past is one of the monuments of 20th-century literature. Neville Jasons widely praised abridged version has rightly become an audiobook landmark and now, upon numerous requests, he is recording the whole work unabridged which, when complete, will run for some 140 hours.

The Guermantes Way is the third of seven volumes. The narrator penetrates the inner sanctum of Paris high society and falls in love with the fascinating Duchesse de Guermantes. Proust describes vividly the struggles for political, social, and sexual supremacy played out beneath a veneer of elegant manners. He also finds himself pursued by the predatory Baron de Charlus.

Members Reviews:

Makes a very big reading project a breeze!

Where does The Guermantes Way rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

This is the best of the series of seven books now known as Proust's "In Search of Lost Time." Unfortunately, only five of the seven volumes have beed recorded on NAXOS in an unabridged form. The series will be completed soon, I imagine, but the main frustration altogether resides in the sad fact that after all is completed, it will be of an outdated translation by Scott Moncrieff which, however excellent and widely celebrated, is inferior in some ways to the brand new translations published in England by PENGUIN BOOKS (General Editor Christopher Pendergast) and which, because of a US Random House copyright, are NOT FOR SALE [at least the last four volumes are not] in the United States. One has to explore various Internet bookstores to find them in this country. Furthermore, the audiobook is the UNCORRECTED C.K. Scott Moncrieff version which was famously brought up to date several years ago. Sigh! So, as good as this recording is, MR NEVILLE JASON is exhausting himself on outdated material -- 2,500,000 words of it before he is finished. One notes that the first audiobook in the series is called THE REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST for which the newer translation is given as IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME. Right away the reader sees the problem. However, this book -- THE GUERMANTES WAY -- is wonderful to listen to, and some generation (my grandmother's perhaps) was delighted with this translation which -- indeed -- was the only one in English and made the book famous in the English speaking world.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Guermantes Way?

The book is packed with memorable incidents. The "classy" party scenes, of course, are always to be looked forward to since Proust's commentary is hilariously satirical. Most people do not realize that Proust can be very, very funny -- and in a very cutting manner as well.

Have you listened to any of Neville Jasons other performances before? How does this one compare?

This man is SUPERB -- and he makes everything totally comprehensible. Long Proustian sentences I cannot figure out when reading them on paper come over with total clarity and sense.

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

Yes. I am 71 years old and am thrilled to be reading this masterpiece at long last. I am glad I skipped it in my 20s and 30s, however; it's far too cynical in its world views. Nothing is as it seems at first! I would have been disillusioned for my entire life! Proust turns the world upside down.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Within a Budding Grove

Subtitle: Remembrance of Things Past, Volume 2

Author: Marcel Proust, C. K. Scott Moncrieff (translator)

Narrator: Neville Jason

Format: Unabridged

Length: 25 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-04-12

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 131 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Remembrance of Things Past is one of the monuments of 20th century literature. Neville Jasons widely praised abridged version has rightly become an audiobook landmark and now, upon numerous requests, he is recording the whole work unabridged which, when complete, will run for some 140 hours.

Within a Budding Grove is the second of seven volumes. The young narrator, experiencing his youthful sexuality, falls under the spell of a group of adolescent girls, succumbs to the charms of the enchanting Gilberte, and visits a brothel where he meets Rachel. His impressions of life are also stimulated by the painter, Elstir, and his encounter with another girl, Albertine.

Members Reviews:

One young nubile girl and then another ...

My first recommendation when reading Proust is the reader MUST make sure they have a reliable bookmark, because when (not if, but when) you lose your place your faulty memory will not be able to remember exactly where you just were. One young nubile girl starts to blend into another young nubile girl who looks at this point a lot like her friend. One picked flower starts to smell like another from an earlier page; a page that seemed to exist a whole lifetime ago. One young man with mommy issues starts to look almost exactly like another young man with grand-mommy issues.

That being said, you don't read Proust for the lines. You read Proust for everything else. It is those moments between plot points where all the rich texture resides. There is something languorous about just simply letting Proust's prose wash over you ~~~ wave after wave. Suddenly, you really don't care if you've already read a certain page because you are content and you recognize that you will read it again in just a few pages anyway and it will be beautiful and true all over again.

Neville Jason's narration is a fantastic crutch. I use the narration to keep me paced as I read the text. I tried this approach first with Joyce and it worked so well I used it with Pynchon. The listening/reading approach is perfect for Proust.

Jason Brings Proust to Life

Would you consider the audio edition of Within a Budding Grove to be better than the print version?

Yes

Which character as performed by Neville Jason was your favorite?

Baron de Charlus

Any additional comments?

I have just listened to all seven volumes of In Search of Lost Time so these comments apply to the whole series.

Jason's narration of this poetic work is "sans pareil." He gives all the characters a distinctive voice making it much easier to follow.His pronunciation of the french names is impeccable.

His English pronunciation is almost as good. Given Jason's mid-Atlantic plummy accent and the work's preoccupation with the upper class, his pronunciation of (the unfortunately frequently recurring word) "analogous" is teeth grating. (Hint: it should be pronounced with a hard "g.")

Nevertheless, Bravo Neville! (and of course Proust)

Philosophy and Psychology in guise of Literature

If one is not emotionally repulsed by the snobbery and pretentious French world at the time of the Dreyfus affair described within this book than one probably is missing out on what the author is trying to get at. Volume I needs to be read in order to follow what's going on in this book.