Dombey and Son

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: David Timson

Length: 39 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Dombey and Son is vintage Dickens and explores the classic themes of betrayal, cruelty and deceit. Dombey's dysfunctional relationships are painted against a backdrop of social unrest in industrialized London, which is populated by a host of fascinating and memorable secondary characters. The complete and unabridged novel is brought spectacularly to life by veteran reader David Timson.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

Public Domain (P)2009 Naxos Audiobooks

Words Titillate, Magnificent Reading, Poor Story

Dombey and Son, by: Charles Dickens, Narrated by: David Timson. I am a profound fan of 19th Century English literature; and of course, I have read many of Dicken’s writings. I actually never heard of Dombey and Son, when I went looking for a new Dickens work. I figured, what can possibly go wrong?

The answer I presumed was nothing. I was wrong. I am here to tell you this work has a flaw. The storyline never involves the reader; it goes on and on and never gets you interested in the characters or their trials and tribulations. It’s bad actor characters are numerous, and their evils are told in a long and boring interplay amongst the actors. The plot is without merit and it rolls on forever and ever. 36 hours of little story worth reading. Yet . . .

It’s a Dickens work and its use of words are brilliant. After reading the first five chapters, and taking in the traditional Dickens word salads, I was like Snoopy, dancing in the air as my feet wriggled in rhythm to Dickens words ringing in my soul.

Even better, was the reading by David Timson. I never read anything by him before, but he is a master. Each character had their own unique voice inflections, vocabulary, cadence and tone and Timson presented each with magnificence. The story was bad; but the read was great just waiting for each character to come to me with a basket of Dickens words to be delivered by Timson’s performances.

Dickens plots are always long connections and interconnections of his characters and the development of his characters are perhaps his greatest genius. I enjoy them but for me, the most exciting part of reading (or listening) to a Dickens is swirling, tumbling, and just plain darn enjoying how he puts words together to involve you in his stories. Beautiful, and made even better with the Timson read.

Great narration enhances a great story.

What did you love best about Dombey and Son?

David Timson's narration, which includes the voices of the numerous characters, each with their own highly distinct manners, is fabulous and really words to make a great story engrossing to listen to!

Fabulous

Quintessential Dickens - the villains get their due (it takes a while, but it’s worth it!) the repentant are rewarded and the good are triumphant. And this rendition is absolutely delightful! Beautifully narrated with spirit and impeccable and consistent voice characterization.

DOMBEY & SON DELIVERS DELIGHT

What did you love best about Dombey and Son?

THE FELICITY OF LANGUAGE AND THE MAGNIFICENT HUMOUR. THE CHARACTERS ARE UNFORGETTABLE, AND THE PLOT REMAINS RELEVANT TO OUR STILL- PATRIARCHAL WORLD.

What other book might you compare Dombey and Son to and why?

OTHER DICKENS, OF COURSE, BUT THIS STANDS ON ITS OWN.

Have you listened to any of David Timson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

THIS READING IS SPECTACULAR IN EVERY WAY~~THE INFLECTIONS, THE ACCENTS (EACH CHARACTER IS COMPLETELY RECOGNIZABLE FROM MR. TIMSON'S MASTERY OF VERBAL PAINTING), AND THE GENERAL FLAVOR OF THE BOOK IS ENHANCED BY THIS READING. I DO NOT THINK I COULD HAVE ENJOYED "DOMBEY & SON" AS A BOOK NEARLY AS MUCH AS I DID BY LISTENING TO THIS ACCOUNT. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION.

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

YOU WILL HAVE TO ASK DICKENS, AS HE WAS AN ACTOR, ALSO.

Any additional comments?

I WAS DEEPLY SATISFIED WITH THIS RENDITION AND AM ONLY SORRY THAT IT IS OVER. I WILL CHOOSE MY NEXT DICKENS WITH A READNG BY MR. TIMSON.

Well worth the time commitment

This is not a well known Dickens, but it is as well worth listening to as any. The narration on this version is very entertaining.

Terrific experience

Any additional comments?

First of all, Dickens is a master of the English language, using it like an artist painting a vivid portrait of Victorian England, his characters, and the world they live in. Second, he is deeply cognizant of human psychology,( of the passion of pride and jealousy in particular in Dombey and Son) and makes the motives believable. He is also a master of building up the suspense to make stories a real "page-turner".
To top it all, the reading is fantastic, persuasive, and better than any print edition. I am out to read all of Dickens on audiobooks, now that I have so deeply enjoyed the first two (this one and the equally great Bleak House).

Excellent narration

A good Dickens but did lose steam for the last third. The narration was so good carried a mediocre story line for that last part.

Awesome narration

While all of the Dickens books have had excellent narrators , this one by David Timson outstrips everything I have heard so far. His voices for the huge number of characters are a tour de force.

No Better than Timson

Recommended to a large extent,.Timson's ability to switch voices in this novel with this plethora of characters is absolutely stunning. I liked the way he could assign the voice to Mr. Toots and Cousin Feenix, and I liked his reading of chapter 20. Thanks David Timson

David Timson Brings Every Character Alive!

Flawed as this novel is, Dickens’ characters are like no others and Timson bring an entirely different voice to even the most minor of marginal characters. He is simply brilliant.

This might be Dickens’s most feminist novel starting with the ironic title referring to the patriarchal institution and its insistence on dominance that bring everyone to economic and emotional disaster.

Dickens draws parallels between an upper class woman’s fate to put herself out on the marital meat market and a poor woman’s fate to prostitute herself. The upper class woman who fails to make a secure match ends up scrounging along with loss of financial security and social status, and serves essentially as a servant. The lower class woman often must leave her own thriving family to go into service within an upper class household. They are at the mercy of the head of the household.

But I am making this sound so dogmatic. It’s not. It’s a yarn.

If you love Dickens, and have never read this, listen to this version and download a free or almost free Kindle version to follow along periodically or re-read. The audio and print complement each other beautifully.

Now I’m going to seek out a Timson-performed Dickens I haven’t yet read. What a great use of an Audible credit!