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Title: The Mysterious Island

Author: Jules Verne

Narrator: Berny Clark

Format: Unabridged

Length: 19 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-21-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1164 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Based on the true story of Alexander Selkirk, who survived alone for almost five years on an uninhabited island off the coast of Chile, The Mysterious Island is considered by many to be Jules Vernes masterpiece.

Wide-eyed mid-nineteenth-century humanistic optimism in a breezy, blissfully readable translation by Stump (Kirkus Reviews), here is the enthralling tale of five men and a dog who land in a balloon on a faraway, fantastic island of bewildering goings-on and their struggle to survive as they uncover the islands secret.

Editorial Reviews:

This 19th-century adventure novel will delight Verne fans. As in other works by Verne the characters are ideal and the plot seems convenient rather than organic. Verne was not a scientist, but he was obsessed by all the scientific disciplines. Vernes novels are full of magical inventions and pseudo-scientific rhetoric. In The Mysterious Island, five men and a pooch land their balloon on an exotic island. They undertake to learn the secret of the place. Narrator Berny Clarks lively voice sings out the animated dialogue. His excited yet genteel tone makes the densely descriptive text sound lighter and less mannered. His voice sustains an energetic lilt throughout his performance of this lengthy and exhaustively sketched fiction.

Members Reviews:

Wonderful novel, mediocre translation

I was excited to see an audiobook of The Mysterious Island, one of my favorite novels by Jules Verne. Berny Clark does a good job narrating the book. I'd love to give it five stars, but unfortunately the producers decided to use a mediocre 19th-century translation that renames three of the characters and cuts some of the main points from a certain life story that forms the climax of the novel. (If you haven't read it before, I won't say anything more than that; just remember, when you get to this point, that Verne's original text is far more radical politically than what you're listening to.)

At least it's a mediocre translation and not a completely bungled one, unlike the "standard" version of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea or the "Hardwigg" version of Journey to the Center of the Earth. The story (apart from some of the political shading) is intact, and the story of this resolute band of escapees and their skin-of-their-teeth survival on the island has always been, for me, a compelling and gripping one. My three stars for the story are directed at the translation, not the original. I wish a different translation were used, but I'm glad to have it.

Everything from nothing!

It isn't very often that I finish an audiobook and walk around with a grin from ear to ear, chuckling. This book really grew on me and it was so much fun. I really enjoyed the characters and miss them now that the book is finished.

First, what this book isn't. Do not expect a-thrill-a-minute pace, do not expect sea monsters, vampires, or zombies. Do not expect political correctness--think of where we were in the 70's, 1970's, that is.

What this book is. It is a very well-done, old-fashioned survival tale. It is an all-male adventure that includes and all-knowing engineer and his African manservant, a seaman, a reporter, and a young teen boy. In addition, there is the indispensable dog, Top, and the orangutan, Joop, who wears a dinner jacket in his role as servant.

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Title: Finnegans Wake

Author: James Joyce

Narrator: Cyril Cusack, Siobhan McKenna

Format: Abridged

Length: 1 hr

Language: English

Release date: 01-01-12

Publisher: Saland Publishing

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 62 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Cyril Cusack and Siobhan McKenna read from James Joyce's Finnegans Wake. This idiosyncratic novel is full of multilingual puns and portmanteau words, intended to recreate the experience of sleep and dreams.

Members Reviews:

Only part of the book

This is only part of a 600+ page novel. It was advertised as entire novel.

riverrun

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

Anna Livia Plurabelle

What other book might you compare Finnegans Wake to and why?

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Which character as performed by Cyril Cusack and Siobhan McKenna was your favorite?

washer woman

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

yes - it is hard to pick up in the middle of the story. Have to listen to the whole

Any additional comments?

too short but lot of fun

Aweome but only 2 chapters?????

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

Yes, but with the caveat that it is only excerpts, not the entire book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Finnegans Wake?

the entire reading is lyrical and melodious, just like Joyce intended it to be, I imagine. Its hard to extract one part as "the most memorable". It's not a romance novel. The whole book is a masterpiece.

Which scene was your favorite?

the scene where I wasted 10 minutes of my life completing this silly box form:)

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

Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake!

A Great Work...

"Finnegan's Wake" is actually a great story. However, many criticisms of it say that it's unreadable and unable to be interpreted. The secret method to understanding "Finnegan's Wake" is understanding that the narrator is speaking, and thus the story is written, with an Irish accent... the letters in the words of the story are meant to create the sound of an Irish accent. It's actually quite an interesting piece, a novel little bit by Joyce. I suggest listening to it after familiarizing yourself with the speech styles of the Irish. :).

Amazing Performances

What made the experience of listening to Finnegans Wake the most enjoyable?

Siobhan McKenna and Cyril Cusak turn in stunning performances. They give such marvelous expression to Joyce's impenetrable prose that the meaning hardly matters. I am content to sit back and let the words wash over me.

What other book might you compare Finnegans Wake to and why?

Finnegans Wake is in a class by itself. I know of nothing that is comparable.

Have you listened to any of Cyril Cusack and Siobhan McKenna s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, Their performances of Yeat's poetry are also brilliant.

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

Yes, but one hour was much too short. I wanted it to go on. So sad that they couldn't have recorded the entire book

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Title: The Metamorphosis and Other Stories

Author: Franz Kafka

Narrator: George Guidall

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-16-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 102 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

In the bizarre world of Franz Kafka, salesmen turn into giant bugs, apes give lectures at college academies, and nightmares probe the mysteries of modern humanitys unhappiness. More than any other modern writer in world literature, Kafka captures the loneliness and misery that fill the lives of 20th-century humanity. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories reveals the authors extraordinary talent in a variety of formsprose poems, short stories, sketches, allegories, and novelettesand showcases the straightfaced humor, startling psychological insight, and haunting imagination for which he is revered as a modern master. In this brilliant new translation, prizewinning translator Joachim Neugroschel preserves the delicate balance, rich timbre, and wondrous language of Kafkas original works. In addition to "The Metamorphosis", this collection includes "Early Stories", "Contemplation", "The Judgement", "The Stoker", "In the Penal Colony", and "A Country Doctor".

Members Reviews:

Excellent Translation, Excellent Narration!

Would you listen to The Metamorphosis and Other Stories again? Why?

Of course! I return to this book again and again when other fiction is not satisfying. Kafka has such a unique voice and such a masterful ability to entrance the reader. Joachim Neugroschel's translation captures Kafka's dark humor (and ability to maintain the fictional dream) much better than the Muir's translations did.

Any additional comments?

"A Country Doctor" and "In the Penal Colony" are the best

kafka

What did you love best about The Metamorphosis and Other Stories?

The reader was excellent. We really enjoyed the pre- lecture regarding the language and nationalism and judism. We recommend both the reader and the book. We also had never read or listened to the short stories, which were a bonus.

Who was your favorite character and why?

gregor - he fought to maintain his human-ness.

Have you listened to any of George Guidalls other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, oh yes. We pick books that are unknown and read by him based solely on his narration. He was excellent reading Kafka.

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

No.

Too Kafkaesque For Me

My title, as I pray you guessed, is a bad joke.

This audiobook is as close to a perfect execution as is possible when having to make editorial decisions left and right due to the author being dead for .... Well he has been dead for a long time. No one can dispute that.

The artistic liberties that had to be forcefully undertaken in each of the included story's translation (German & Belgian to English) were flawless. I haven't seen as good a job in that respect since the audiobook incarnation of The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem (available on Audible too).

Both works left me scratching my head trying to figure how such beautiful alliteration and pun could have POSSIBLY been kept in tact while still holding true to the original works. REALLY GREAT listen. Top marks.

10.00 / 10.00

Frsutrated

What did you love best about The Metamorphosis and Other Stories?

The thing that frustrates me the most about this collection in its audible format , is one doesn't know what short story one is listening g too. They are not listed in the chapter heading or introduced at the start of the said story being read.

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Title: War and Peace [Russian Edition]

Author: Leo Tolstoy

Narrator: Evgeniy Ternovskiy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 73 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-01-11

Publisher: New Internet Technologies

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 33 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

War and Peace broadly focuses on Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the most well-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family behind to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman who intrigues both men. As Napoleon's army invades, Tolstoy brilliantly follows characters from diverse backgrounds - peasants and nobility, civilians and soldiers - as they struggle with the problems unique to their era, their history, and their culture. And as the novel progresses, these characters transcend their specificity, becoming some of the most moving - and human - figures in world literature.

Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

Members Reviews:

The chapters of the book are not in order!

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

I could have loved it, but the chapters are not in the correct order and it is very difficult to follow the story. It was a struggle and a fairly bad experience! I have read this book in the past, so I have managed to figure the order out. It would be a waste of time for anyone who was not familiar with the book!

Any additional comments?

Please edit the recording and fix the order of the chapters!

The chapters are not in order

Any additional comments?

I loved War and Peace when I read it last summer so I decided to listen to it in original Russian. This book recording is seriously messed up. Chapters and books are not in order and it is hard to follow. Or should I say it is impossible to follow unless you read the book and know the text pretty well.

Amazing quality and loved the narration!!

Im trying to improve my Russian by listening to Russian audiobooks. This one a perfect book and it had a lot to do with the reader. I loved it so much I looked the movie to watch as well. AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

Brilliant story and outstanding narrating

What did you like best about this story?

I loved how narrator read the story quite "matter-of-fact"ly, leaving the story to raise all necessary drama and emotions. Very good job done by narrator indeed.

Life itself

It is no accident that War and Peace has been called an epic novel - events and people's lives unravel with astonishing detail. However how could it be any different when Tolstoy writes about life itself and it is in the detail, as well is in the significant events. I gave 4 stars for the story simply because for me, for all its length, it finished rather suddenly. I understand that the story of the characters was not the primary goal of the novel, but rather the monumental events that took place and the characters were there to serve as an explanation for why the Napoleon invasion of Russia developed as it did; they simply revealed the spirit of the Russian people. However, a reader needs closure and it felt like there was not much of that. Nevertheless, what a story - I would recommend to everyone to read it.

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Title: Anna Karenina [Russian Edition]

Author: Leo Tolstoy

Narrator: Vyacheslav Gerasimov

Format: Unabridged

Length: 41 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-23-11

Publisher: New Internet Technologies

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 49 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

A beautiful society wife from St. Petersburg, determined to live life on her own terms, sacrifices everything to follow her conviction that love is stronger than duty. A socially inept but warmhearted landowner pursues his own visions instead of conforming to conventional views. The adulteress and the philosopher head the vibrant cast of characters in Anna Karenina, Tolstoy's tumultuous tale of passion and self-discovery. This novel marks a turning point in the author's career, the juncture at which he turned from fiction toward faith. Set against a backdrop of the historic social changes that swept Russia during the late 19th century, it reflects Tolstoy's own personal and psychological transformation. Two worlds collide in the course of this epochal story: that of the old-time aristocrats, who struggle to uphold their traditions of serfdom and authoritarian government, and that of the westernizing liberals, who promote technology, rationalism, and democracy. This cultural clash unfolds in a compelling, emotional drama of seduction, betrayal, and redemption.

Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

Members Reviews:

OMG

Would you listen to Anna Karenina again? Why?

No. Great story but once is enough.

What other book might you compare Anna Karenina to and why?

one of a kind for me

What about Vyacheslav Gerasimovs performance did you like?

he is pretty good, but sometimes can get on my nerves

Any additional comments?

it is incredible how contemporary and relevant Tolstoy's writing is, despite everything....

And they had us read this in high school? Who in high school can ever relate to this?!!!

Buyer beware - this is in Russian language

Any additional comments?

Please make it clear on your website that this is a Russian language version. If I had known this I would not have bought it, as I do not speak or understand Russian.

Very thoughtful piece of work

Great piece of work. Many thoughts coming in your head when reading Leo Nikolaevich, two different life stories with pretty same problem. Need loads of thinking

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Title: The Prince

Author: Niccolo Machiavelli

Narrator: Bill DeWees

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-11-11

Publisher: Simply Media

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 93 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The Prince is considered the all-time best book on political strategy. It has of late become a much-referred-to book for all competitive situations. Machiavelli's name is associated closely with his philosophy, as he well deserves. His other works are worth reading or hearing, as well, especially his Art of War and Belfagor: The Devil Who Took a Wife.

Members Reviews:

Historically interesting but requires Context

The author makes many quite interesting points, but to understand the examples requires a lot of knowledge of the historical context. For someone not very well versed in the history and politics of sixteenth century Europe it is a challenge to understand the examples cited. The narration is good despite a few mispronunciations. While reading this book, one sees the continuing influence of this work on contemporary American politics. For people who just want a taste of The Prince, there are a few other selections that discuss the ideas without the need for deep historical context.

A very timely revelation

every man should make this book part of his must read, or listening agenda. I found it very revealing.

Didn't live up to the hype, but still worth it.

This book is overwhelmingly hyped up, but the majority of its contents is common sense if you've read any world history. However, if you haven't read any world history, it may still be a good read. But, for the price and length, being both low and short, it is not a bad option if only to familiarize yourself with a common reference.

As for the narration, the narrator did a very good job.

Problematic

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would not recommend this version of Machiavelli's "The Prince." Other versions are probably better. The reader mispronounces most of the Italian names which are crucial to the text; why he was not given better coaching on this, I cannot imagine (he has difficulty with some English words as well). It's very distracting, and detracts from the work.

Who was your favorite character and why?

N/A

Would you be willing to try another one of Bill DeWeess performances?

No.

Could you see The Prince being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No.

masterpiece read too fast

I like to enjoy my audiobooks while I am carrying some easy task, as preparing dinner. With this audiobook you must stop and actually concentrate on the reading because the reader is going so fast that your brain doesn't have the time to visualise the story.

I wish I could slow it down

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Title: Swann's Way

Author: Marcel Proust, Scott Moncrieff - translator

Narrator: George Guidall

Format: Unabridged

Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-29-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 49 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Swanns Way is the first and best-known part of Prousts monumental work, Remembrance of Things Past. Often compared to a symphony, this complex masterpiece is ideally suited for audio. Listening lets you appreciate anew the incredible beauty of Prousts language and the uniqueness of his style. The novels narrator, Marcel, finds the true meaning of experience in memories stimulated by some random object or event. He recalls his childhood, and eventually reconstructs the story of Monsieur Swann and his passion for Odette, a beautiful, but socially inferior woman. Marcels waking reverie gives rise to fascinating questions about the meaning of time. Swanns Way, with its long passages of intricate introspection, becomes much more accessible and enjoyable with George Guidalls lucid narration.Includes an exclusive interview with Mary Ann Caws, Distinguished Professor of English, French, and Comparative Literature at CUNY.

Editorial Reviews:

Recorded Books has selected a narrator who makes Proust light-going, if that's imaginable. George Guidall draws us into the banter and gossip of the provincial French bourgeoisie; he makes us feel as if we were at the table with Marcel's family or sharing the parlor with Monsieur Swann's coterie. More impressive still is the ease with which he handles even the most difficult exposition. Try, for instance, Guidall's rendition of "Combray," a complex meditation on Marcel's childhood at his family's country home. What might have been sleep-inducing becomes a haunting, even mesmerizing, experience - the mark of a virtuoso audiobook narrator.

Members Reviews:

Beautiful, BUT

This is the first book of an extraordinary seven part novel. I listened to the samples of all the versions available on audible, and as soon as I heard George Guidalls narration I was hooked. With a narration the least bit pedantic or dry or florid or scholarly this could be quite tiresome. Guidalls light touch and almost childlike tone was perfect for the story. This is less a story than ephemerally connected evocations, exploring the associations between memory and sense and time. The writing is introspective, complex and beautiful.

The only downside that, after completing this first part, I found this narrator had not read the other parts on Audible. The samples by Rowe and Jason did not entice me. I hope Guidall will narrate the other parts.

This version has the best narrator

I fully appreciated this version of the novel for two reasons: I had read the Graphic Novel of the book (comic book) by Stephane Heuet, and I absolutely always love a George Guidall narration. I haven't listened to the other versions of this volume by other narrators, there's no need to since nobody narrates better than Guidall.

For me, this is a rare fictional book in which I would have been served by reading the physical copy since I could have underlined all of the brilliant lines within the text which clearly transcended the story that is ostensibly being told.

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Title: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Author: Jules Verne

Narrator: James Frain

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-09-11

Publisher: Listening Library

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 647 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

An American frigate, tracking down a ship-sinking monster, faces not a living creature but an incredible invention - a fantastic submarine commanded by the mysterious Captain Nemo.

Suddenly a devastating explosion leaves just three survivors, who find themselves prisoners inside Nemo's death ship on an underwater odyssey around the world from the pearl-laden waters of Ceylon to the icy dangers of the South Pole... as Captain Nemo, one of the greatest villians ever created, takes his revenge on all society.

More than a marvelously thrilling drama, this classic novel, written in 1870, foretells with uncanny accuracy the inventions and advanced technology of the twentieth century and has become a literary stepping-stone for generations of science fiction writers.

Members Reviews:

Anthony Bonner!!

James Frain gives a wonderful reading of Verne's masterpiece. He captures Aronnax's sense of wonder, Ned Land's anger, Nemo's passionate devotion to the sea. It's Verne with a slight touch of Yorkshire: Frain's Ned Land sounds more like Sean Bean than Kirk Douglas. No complaints here, though: his voice is rich, steady, and crystal clear.

Even more reason for celebration is the fact that Listening Library - which produced Jim Dale's excellent "Around the World in 80 Days" a few years ago - chose to use the translation by Anthony Bonner. This was first published by Bantam in 1962 and was reissued with some corrections in 2003. This is one of the most complete versions of Verne's novel available in English and is a remarkably fluent translation. (There are more recent translations that are more meticulously accurate - for instance, those by William Butcher, F.P. Walter, and Walter James Miller - but Bonner did a bang-up job, one of the first to deliver Verne's whole novel rather than a hacked-up abridgement, and it's still one of my favorites.)

(There is only one other audio version of this book that is even remotely complete, the Recorded Books production read by Norman Dietz. I enjoy Dietz, but the anonymous translation used there, even though it IS the whole novel, is an awkward one with an unfortunate tendency toward literalism.)

If you're a Verne fan, you HAVE to get this. If you've listened to one of the other audio versions of this novel and came away unimpressed, give it another try with this one. I can practically guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Then and Now; Still a Whale of a Tale

First published in 1869 by French author Jules Verne (whom received writing advice from both Hugo and Dumas). Some scholars say that Jules Verne fathered science fiction, others say he introduced steampunk; many people's only knowledge of Jules Verne comes from the Disney movie adaptations of Verne's novels. Which may not be a bad thing, (they made the jump to screen wonderfully...gosh, didn't we love the big crabs and squids, the hot-air balloons, the volcanoes, and the ocean and sun in the middle of the earth?) but it is hardly the same thing as experiencing the true tone of his books; dated, but still sparkling with imagination that is entertaining reading.

Verne intended this book to be more science-that-was-fiction -- than Disney's fiction-that-tried-to-be-science.

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Title: The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Author: Leo Tolstoy

Narrator: Simon Prebble

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-28-11

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 872 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Hailed as one of the worlds masterpieces of psychological realism, The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the story of a worldly careerist, a high-court judge who has never given the inevitability of his death so much as a passing thought. But one day death announces itself to him, and to his shocked surprise, he is brought face-to-face with his own mortality. How, Tolstoy asks, does an unreflective man confront his one and only moment of truth?

The first part of the story portrays Ivan Ilyichs colleagues and family after he has died, as they discuss the effect of his death on their careers and fortunes. In the second part, Tolstoy reveals the life of the man whose death seems so trivial. The perfect bureaucrat, Ilyich treasured his orderly domestic and office routine. Diagnosed with an incurable illness, he at first denies the truth but is influenced by the simple acceptance of his servant boy, and he comes to embrace the boys belief that death is natural and not shameful. He comforts himself with happy memories of childhood and gradually realizes that he has ignored all his inner yearnings as he tried to do what was expected of him. Will Ilyich be able to come to terms with himself before his life ebbs away?

This short novel was the artistic culmination of a profound spiritual crisis in Tolstoys own life, a nine-year period following the publication of Anna Karenina, during which he wrote not a word of fiction. A thoroughly absorbing glimpse into the abyss of death, it is also a strong testament to the possibility of finding spiritual salvation.

Critic Reviews:

Written more than a century ago, Tolstoys work still retains the power of a contemporary novel." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Elegant, simple, and true

"But however much he thought, he found no answer [why he was dying]. And when it occurred to him, as it often did, that it was all happening because he had not lived right, he at once recalled all the correctness of his life and drove the strange thought away." This is the elegant story of the agonizing decline of a most average of men until his premature death. Ivan Ilyich leads the life most of us lead, driven by career, climbing the social ladder, and supporting his family, never stopping to reflect until bedridden by his illness. His perspective of life and the world around him changes profoundly when he finally begins to question brutal truths, causing him to lose tolerance for the attitudes and ways of those closest to him, including his former healthy self. "I am leaving life with the consciousness that I have lost all that was given me, and there's no correcting it, then what?" Meanwhile, those around him show no interest in the least to understand his circumstances or to understand what he has come to know as sacred truth, and the frustration he suffers from their denials cause him more suffering than his illness. Meanwhile, they anticipate his death and upon its arrival do not rejoice, but rather use it as their own means to achieve the same things which he had previously been working towards: career advancement, climbing the social ladder, and supporting their families. In short, they treat his death for the purposes of those things in which he had finally seen the folly in the last months of his life.

At it's essence, the story is about the human capacity to change and learn as lives evolve, and that it's never too late to find peace.

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Title: Les Misérables: Translated by Julie Rose

Author: Victor Hugo, Julie Rose (translator)

Narrator: George Guidall

Format: Unabridged

Length: 60 hrs and 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-14-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 2012 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

One of the great classics of world literature and the inspiration for the most beloved stage musical of all time, Les Misérables is legendary author Victor Hugos masterpiece. This extraordinary English version by renowned translator Julie Rose captures all the majesty and brilliance of Hugos work. Here is the timeless story of the quintessential hunted manJean Valjeanand the injustices, violence, and social inequalities that torment him.

Critic Reviews:

Rich and gorgeous. This is the [translation] to read. (Times (London))

Members Reviews:

A Book that Made Me a Better Person

I'm sitting here wondering what I can possibly say in regard to Les Misérables, and feeling more than a little overwhelmed. I finished listening to the audiobook last night, and am still reeling from everything the book said and means. That being said, I'll give it my best shot. But I'll give you a warning up front: this is a long, profound book. So I'll have to write a long review to express my thoughts on it. Even so, I feel like I'm just scratching the surface.

I'll start with the Audible stuff: as a translator myself, I know how difficult Julie Rose's job was, especially with a book of this magnitude. She had to get into Hugo's brain and express the story so that English speakers could understand and appreciate the tone and atmosphere of Hugo's world correctly. While doing this, she had to be invisible and let Hugo tell the story. It's a very fine line to walk, and she did a fantastic job with it. George Guidall did excellently in his narration--each character was distinct, and their voices changed depending on their point in life, while remaining individual. Wow.

Now on to the book itself.

Les Miserables is known as one of the cornerstones of European literature--I don't think anybody will dispute that. However I think that many people are only exposed to the story through the stage version, and never really consider trying to takle the book. In many ways, I understand this. The book is LONG. The audiobook version is over 60 hours, and most print versions are well into the 1,100+ page range. Not for the faint-hearted. But people that limit themselves to only experiencing the musical version are not only putting a cap on their enjoyment of the story, but are also limiting their intellectual growth.

I'm not saying that reading this book will make you smarter, but I am saying that reading (or listening to) Les Miserables will make you think about things you've probably never considered before, and not all of those things are good. The book is dark. The book is sad. The things that happen to the characters will tear your heart out and make you want to strangle somebody at the same time. I finished listening on my commute home, and I started crying on the platform at Ueno Station in Tokyo.

Becky (my wife for those of you reading this who don't know) has frequently said that she feels that Victor Hugo was inspired as he wrote this. I can't disagree. Any book that can have such a profound impact on both the guy listening in Tokyo as well as the world has to have something more than literary genius going on. I can honestly say that having read this, I feel like I am a better person for having read (listened) to Les Miserables.

Now for the nitty-gritty.