Being There

By: Jerzy Kosinski

Narrated by: Dustin Hoffman

Length: 2 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

Audie Award Nominee, Best Solo Narration, 2013

Jerzy Kosinski’s clever parable of a naive man thrust into the modern world is more pointed now than ever. Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man, The Graduate), perhaps best known for his portrayals of vulnerable characters and antiheroes, gives an understated and exemplary performance of this satiric look at the unreality of American media culture.

Chance, the enigmatic gardener, becomes Chauncey Gardiner after getting hit by a limo belonging to a Wall Street tycoon. The whirlwind that follows brings Chance to his new status of political policy advisor and possible vice presidential candidate. His garden-variety political responses, inspired by television, become heralded as visionary, and he is soon a media icon due to his unknown background and vague, yet appealing, conversational nature. Being There was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film, starring Peter Sellers as Chance, in 1979.

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©1971 Jerzy Kosinski (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Dustin Hoffman's performance of this spare and provocative novel is a revelation. The story is surreal (though certainly not difficult and certainly highly amusing); to deliver it, what is needed is not pacing or vocal pyrotechnics but a thorough, thoughtful understanding of the text and the restraint to perform only exactly what is there." (AudioFile)

Pretty amazing short story.

I'd seen this movie quite a long time ago and loved Peter Sellers performance. I took a chance on listening to this sort story that the movie was based on and was very pleased with the story. Dustin Hoffman's performance was excellent and kept me entertained throughout the story.

Quite a Performance

Quite a performance delivered by both the Author and by Mr Hoffman. Most of us have been witness to the sensational rendering of Peter Sellers, but I would invite all to judge whether the original writing may even surpass. Highly recommend.

Darkly witty

Thoughtful and witty, but also dark. Although this was written in the early 1970's, it felt quite timely. Dustin Hoffman was a perfect narrator. I actually liked his interpretation of Chance more than Peter Sellers' in the movie version.

Timeless!

The movie was so good I'd never considered reading this until Audible offered it as a promo. It's well worth a credit or buying.
The writing is rich and honed and Hoffman's restrained yet emotive voice is perfect for the narration.
The book is so much better than the film adaptation (I know this is usually the case, but it was a great movie). I highly recommend BEING THERE and have already re-listened to it and will continue to do so for the writing and carefully observed story.

be there now

The sex scenes are exquisite. If only Chance would run for president, all our problems would be solved. Watch him!

Good!

The story unfolds smoothly and is amazingly plausible in today's context of media validation. Definitely interesting.

Dustin Hoffman's voice is perfect 4Gardner's story

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and Mr. Hoffman's narration was perfect for it. It was a quick listen. I listened while doing chores etc.

Excellent performance!

Mr. Hoffman is brilliant! He is so gifted! He can do anything with his wonderful voice! Just great!

Enjoyable light read with great narration

Any additional comments?

This story portrays a simple vulnerable man who is perceived by a successful tycoon to be brilliant and then it snowballs to everyone believing he is brilliant. Enjoyable afternoon listen.

Dustin Hoffman Narrated This Book Perfectly

Where does Being There rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

average. book great narration

Any additional comments?

Very unique.
I bought this book on a Daily Deal with no knowledge of the story. Dustin Hoffman was perfect for this book. This was a pretty good book but i honestly think Hoffman took it from a 2* to a 4*. I cant remember a book that was as positively affected by a narrator.