A Passage to India

By: E.M. Forster

Narrated by: Sam Dastor

Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

What really happened in the Marabar caves? Adela Quested arrives in Chandrapore, India, prepared to marry a British magistrate who exemplifies the narrow-minded, anti-Indian projudices of the imperial bureaucracy. But she soon meets the charming and mercurial Dr. Aziz, who offers to show her the "real" India. An expedition to the famed Marabar caves ends in explosive accusations and a schism that foreshadows the eventual end of British rule in India. Sam Dastor brilliantly evokes the Indian scenes and accents that make this story so intriguing.

Public Domain (P)1994 Chivers Audio Books

Critic reviews

"Dastor's performance is outstanding." (AudioFile)

Great Book and great performance

By far, the best audiobook I've ever listened to. Forster shows real genius in this story of colonial India. The performance by the narrator is fantastic. I highly recommend this audiobook.

The movie was good, but the book is even better.

First rate narration

The story is, of course, a great classic. But it comes alive with the outstanding narration. I recommend without reservation.

Read with great beauty and care

This is a marvelous reading and brings to novel and characters to life.

great novel - horrible performance.

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

It is worth downloading this audiobook for the quality of the literature. However, the performance almost counteracts the value of Forster's prose.

Would you be willing to try another one of Sam Dastor’s performances?

Sam Dastor's performance is torturous to listen to. I listen to audiobooks before I go to sleep. Unlike some other reviewers, I don't have a problem with his Indian accent. But his women. God! They squawk like transgender parrots. After watching the film it's just painful imagining these hellish noises coming out of the mouths of Judy Davis and Peggy Ashcroft. I question whether I will ever be able to maintain an erection again. I can't stress how much this ruined the audiobook. Audible really needs to get a different version of this wonderful book.

India from a Englishman decades ago

Narration is really great, Im not sure how he keeps all the slight variations in order. Granted he sounds a bit silly as a Englishwomen but its clear who the characters are and his reading of the book has a very nice flow. My first E.M. Forster book and Im intrigued, he has a very poetic style but doesnt take the story too seriously either.

IN KEEPING WITH THE RAJ QUARTET

Excellent in every way.. Sam Dastor the perfect narrator. Unlike other reviewers, I did not take offense at his voicing of the female characters. If you saw the movie, he got it just right. Sad and poignant; quiet and colorful depiction of the Raj. An excellent read.

What a pleasant surprise

What a great and pleasant surprise this masterpiece is to me.

I do not recall very many books that portray character to such a remarkable degree. British men and women, Indian Moslems, the servants--20 or 30 years before Great Britain lost India, and tells why it was simply inevitable. This book describes India's people and the British understanding of India than any number of other books.

I recall Samuel Butler's Way of All Flesh, Hemingway's books, the Forsyte Saga come immediately to mind.

The reading was superb. Otherwise, my words are inadequate to describe this book.

Wonder what British royalty thinks of You personally? Read this book!

SEEING THE TREES IN FORSTER

E. M. Forster sees the trees in the forest of complicated life. Considered by some to be one of the best novels ever written, “A Passage to India” is a spectacular listen and terrific read. The story is beautifully narrated by Sam Dastor but the poetry of Forster’s writing shines best in its reading.

Published in 1924, “A Passage to India” is a primer on colonialism, ethnocentricity, and discrimination. Human nature is immutable and omnipresent, a force of good and evil.
The ugliness of colonialism (cultural domination), ethnocentrism, and discrimination is exemplified in Forster’s tour de force. Thankfully, the characters of Mrs. Moore and Ms. Quested give some sliver of hope for mankind’s redemption, a hope for cultural respect and truth.

Great read.

This book is great for a class looking at different cultures mixing. I read this book for my ib English class and it was quite fascinating.

Incredible

This is a beautiful, profound and philosophical novel that will remain in your thoughts long after its conclusion. It is also one of the best read novels I have ever heard. The performance is nothing less than masterful.