The Canterbury Tales [Blackstone]

By: Geoffrey Chaucer

Narrated by: Martin Jarvis, Jay Carnes, Ray Porter, John Lee, Malcolm Hillgartner, Ralph Cosham, Simon Vance

Length: 20 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

At the Tabard Inn, 30 travelers of widely varying classes and occupations are gathering to make the annual pilgrimage to Becket's shrine at Canterbury. It is agreed that each traveler will tell four tales to help pass the time and that the host of the inn will judge the tales and reward the best storyteller with a free supper upon their return.

Thus we hear, translated into modern English, 20-some tales, told in the voices of knight and merchant, wife and miller, squire and nun, and many more. Some are bawdy, some spiritual, some romantic, some mysterious, some chivalrous. Between the stories, the travelers converse, joke, and argue, revealing much about their individual outlooks on life, as well as what life was like in late 14th-century England.

©2003 Gavin Menzies (P)2008 Blackstone Audio

Superb Narration of a Classic

I have heard several recordings of the Canterbury Tales over the years, and this is by far the best. The multi-cast format is really best; Chaucer gave each character a distinctive voice, so it is apropos that each story be read by a different narrator. Each actor captures the persona of their character, from pious nuns to noble knights to course workmen. Even the Parson's lengthy sermon was enjoyable to listen to. This is definitely a must-have for both fans of Chaucer and of good audiobooks.

More Wonderful Than I Remembered

Would you consider the audio edition of The Canterbury Tales to be better than the print version?

Yes. I enjoyed the performances by the narrators, the wonderful stories, and the amazing rhyming ability of the author. They make this a memorable event.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Canterbury Tales?

I loved and enjoyed each and every one of the stories.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrators actually bring these stories to life with their wonderful voices and reading abilities.

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

Tales you will never forget.

classic

Classic story. Not much more to say. The performances were to notch. If you want a good review if there Canterbury Tales, this is an option.

Interesting

Always meant to read this - the translation is understandable but still gives you a sense of the language of the time. Skip some of the more boring tales (Melibee and the Parsons tale) and it's a very entertaining listen.

Marvelous, marvelous!

ALWAYS compelling. The verse is a joy to hear. In addition, Chaucer's crude, vulgar passages are uproarious! I WILL admit, however, that the Parson's tale, tho interesting, is a pain-in-the-ass to listen to (and I'm sure his fellow pilgrims probably agreed!). Overall, quite a treat!

Mark Twain got it right

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

If they want to listen (vs read) a translation that gives the feel of Middle English, then yes. (Middle English? or before that, even?).

Would you ever listen to anything by Geoffrey Chaucer again?

Luckily, I don't think any other book he wrote has survived, or at least, has not been read into an audible version!

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The women narrators were much easier for my ear to listen to...of course, some of the men were good, too. But some of the men --and their English-- were really difficult to grab onto.

Was The Canterbury Tales worth the listening time?

20 hours 9 minutes, by my count (49 minutes according to Audible). Well, of course it was, because if I wanted to know what it was all about, I needed to listen to it all. But if it were not such a classic....well....

Any additional comments?

Twain said something like "Classics are books we think we ought to have read but never do." Well, that's probably a pretty poor paraphrase, but still, it fits Chaucer.By and large, it was a boring book to listen to; I had difficulty keeping my attention focused on most of the tales. The Wife of Bath, The Second Nun, The Friar....they all had something good in them. Some of them were pretty bawdy! The last one, the Parson's Tale, explicates Roman Catholic theology in more detail than probably even Pope Francis would want to listen.

Old but Good

The Canterbury Tales took me back to a time when Knights wandered about, Catholicism reigned and story telling around the camp fire was still a relevant task. In some ways the Canterbury Tales make you want to live in those days again. In a lot of ways I'm so thankful to not be in that time. Some of the tales were excellent some were drawn out way too long.

This recording is out of order

The stories in this version of The Canterbury Tales are out of order. Since it's a sorry sorry collection, it doesn't hurt to much, but it does seem strange that the introduction to the narrators occur two thirds of the way through the text, as does the initial framing story.

good collection of stories

Very good performance. some of the tales felt a little rushed. It is odd that some of the tales abruptly end.

Great all around!

I thought the people reading these stories were fantastic! They were clear, emotive, and clearly had a strong grasp of what they were reading. Sometimes I had trouble navigating through the tales to find the one that I wanted, but that's just a minor inconvenience.