Quo Vadis

A Narrative of the Time of Nero

By: Henryk Sienkiewicz

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Written over a century ago and translated into over 50 languages, this masterpiece of historical fiction is one of the best-selling novels in history and the inspiration for the MGM motion picture of 1951. An epic of love and courage in Nero's time, it illustrates the conflict of moral ideas within the Roman Empire at the dawn of Christianity.

Marcus, a Roman officer in Nero's army, risks his career, his family, and even his life when he falls in love with a Christian woman named Callina. In order to win Callina's love, Marcus must come to understand the true meaning of her religion, even as Rome sinks under the excesses of Nero and Christians are thrown to the lions. Quo Vadis brims with passion and life as it explores one of the turning points in history.

Public Domain (P)1999 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Not for everyone

I am fond of Frederick Davidson as a narrator but I suggest you listen to a sample because he has a unique voice and style. He’s a narrator one loves, as I do, or dislikes. I enjoyed the story. I have had curiosity about the early Christians in Roman and Paul’s letters to the Romans is one of my favorite Bible books.

amazing

incredible book and narration, although oddly missing a couple pages from book where vinicius discovers chilon has betrayed the Christians

More Sienkiewicz Please!

First, Sienkiewicz is one of my favorite authors, and it is a shame that Audible doesn’t offer more of his works. Quo Vadis would only rank in the middle of the pack, with many better books out there. Please record more!

Some reviews complain about the translation, there is not a mistake here; Sienkiewicz is writing a book about things that happened about 30 years after the death of Christ, so he tried to make the language sound contemporary to the bible. It makes sense in the story. Admittedly Frederick Davidson’s narration may make this a little worse to people who are sensitive to something that sounds "old", as he does have a very formal British accent. Personally Davidson is one of my favorite narrators on Audible, and I feel he does great work with this Nobel Prize winning novel. While on one hand this is a novel about Christians in Rome (one of the better books in this genera), it may also be interesting that the author wrote this in a partitioned Poland. Not all the jabs are just about the historic decadence of Rome.

Epic novel - recommend if you have a lot of time on your hands.

Had to read this because my mom gave my name after reading it. Great story but at times I got impatient with the plot. Superfluous details about the thoughts and emotions of characters. Gruesome violence graphically portrayed. At first I felt the reader was way too theatrical but got used to it later and seemed not as annoying. Similarly I was annoyed with the old English. The characters didn’t even speak English so why translate it that way? It just made it harder to understand. Hence, the younger generation will miss out on this because they won’t get near it. How about publishers come up with a translation that is relevant and user friendly?
I stuck with it through the end. Learned some new historical details although that’s not how I previously learned how Cesar died. Not all details are historically accurate but then this is a fictional novel.

Great story but... need different reader

Any additional comments?

I've grown spoiled by the quality of great narrators in my Audible library. Unfortunately, Mr. Davidson's narration of Quo Vadis? did not work for me. His reading style seemed more suited for lecturing at a University.

So disappointed. I really want to hear the story.

What disappointed you about Quo Vadis?

I can't understand the narrator. I kept having to rewind sometimes 3-4 times to try to understand what he said. Heard this was a great book. I want to hear the story. Wish I could find it narrated by someone without accent.

What didn’t you like about Frederick Davidson’s performance?

Accent.

Horrible

Narator is trash and story moves too slow. Being forced to read this for school. Never again

Wonderful story!

Would you try another book from Henryk Sienkiewicz and/or Frederick Davidson?

I really like Henryk Sienkiewicz: he has very vivid imagery and his characters are complex and very real. I would definitely give a shot at With Fire and Sword and his other titles.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved Vinicius because I could feel his frustration at the Roman lifestyle: emptiness and because of it never really having enough. His character shows us why we must be compassionate even to the most ruthless of people: they are humans who like the rest of us are in search of happiness.

What didn’t you like about Frederick Davidson’s performance?

I did not like the tone of his voice: his intonations of sentences sound like questions and not like a narration. There is also something pompous and arrogant about the way he reads, which fits some characters but certainly not others.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The Roman world is depicted in great detail, with lively characters and a story line that pulls us out of our own cosmos and into one that can make us question the paradigms that we allow to govern our decisions and views in life.

Terrible narration

I tried to discover how to return this for another narrator but couldn’t find the link. The narrator was close to impossible to understand!

Performer ruins this product.

The speech patterns of the narrator makes it difficult to listen to this otherwise good novel. The narrator has a bad habit of "upspeak" (breaking sentences into fragments each ending with an high-rising terminal, also called "valley girl speech." Eventually one is focused on the annoying anticipated terminal instead of what is being said. Additionally, the narrator may begin with a slightly different intonation or "voice" for a different character, but then he gradually fades back to a baseline character voice. Ultimately listening to 22 hours of valley girl would probably detract from any novel.