Caliban and the Witch

Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation

De: Silvia Federici

Narrado por: J. Lee Craig

Literary nonfiction.

Caliban and the Witch is a history of the body in the transition to capitalism. Moving from the peasant revolts of the late Middle Ages to the witch hunts and the rise of mechanical philosophy, Federici investigates the capitalist rationalization of social reproduction. She shows how the battle against the rebel body and the conflict between body and mind are essential conditions for the development of labor power and self-ownership, two central principles of modern social organization. Re-recorded in 2025.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2004 Silvia Federici (P)2022 Post Hypnotic Press Inc.

Amazing, Well Researched Novel, Poorly Narrated

Comprehensive history of the relationship between the persecution of women during the centuries long transition from feudalism to capitalism. I wish the reader had a modicum of inflection, and that they practiced pronunciation before tackling a book of this depth! The quality of the writing, though, outweighs the short comings of the narrator.

incredible thesis

the narration was mediocre, but not impossible to listen to

the book itself is dense, and full of academic language. if you can parse it, it's an incredible thesis on the connection between the subjugation of women and the rise of capitalism. really stellar work

witch & feminist

I thought that this was a really interesting book overall and I would recommend this book as long as you listen to it at like 1.75 x speed as I did.
I did not enjoy the narrator & if it wasn't for my habit of listening to book on higher speed I couldn't listen to this audiobook without falling asleep.

Important research to understand what we’re living in and how we got here

Silvia Federici’s work answered so many questions about why gender roles are what they are today, how capital and the shift toward money economy changed our communities etc. I wish I’d found this book in my youth.

Don’t Let the Narration Criticism Hold You Back

I was initially hesitant to purchase this title due to comments about the narrator, but I decided to give it a try—and I'm glad I did! The narration turned out to be quite good. I'm not sure why others have criticized it; perhaps they were referring to the pronunciation of a few words in languages other than English, which are not overly common in the text. For those who want to study the book in depth and ensure they grasp every name and reference, reading the text might be a better option. However, for gaining a general understanding and enjoying the content, this posed no issue for me. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed both the book and the narration, and I highly recommend it!

Brilliant book, but reader can't pronounce

This book's brilliant, and even more trenchant right now than it was when it was first published. But this reader--who has a lovely voice--can't pronounce a thing! I know many of the names and citations and some of the Latin expressions, and these are mangled over and over. Leroi-Ladurie comes out sounding like a brand of margarine... As bad, she adds syllables to words she either doesn't recognize or somehow elides when reading: she keeps saying "bourgeoisie" instead of "bourgeois," and there are a host of other slips. Bless her heart, as they say.

Incredible review of the persecution of women

I consider this a "must read" (or listen) for anyone seeking to learn about women's history, or just the history of capitalism in general. I've found myself constantly wanting to bring this book up in various conversations with friends and aquantainces. This is now my favorite book, and I have recommended it to many friends and lent out my hard copy. Additionally, this book has led me to read more about various artists and philosophers mentioned throughout.

for christ’s sake pls give J Lee Craig a chance to re-record this

Here’s the scenario: I’m at work in the basement of a regional archive, where the everyday tasks of my job hit my heavily masked learning disorder at just the right angle to make me feel like a crumbling cheese.

I download this book to feel more human and remind myself that I have a soul, and to pretend that understanding a complicated and nuanced argument somehow negates the fact that I’m struggling.

And then the narrator’s battle with the text begins and I flash back on one of the worst moments of my life: an international academic conference where I presented a paper that I had not yet actually written, and never would write. Some bullshit on Cyborgs and the Pharmakon. She’s talking about Foucault’s biopower and Rosi Braidotti and I’m right back there in that room facing a harsh critique coming from the Gender and Women’s Studies grad student that I critiqued with equal harshness the day before—both of us are women in our early 20s. Clearly neither of us actually know anything about critical theory, yet we are clawing at each other to learn. An ugly spectacle all around.

Back to J Lee Craig- her mispronunciations psych me out because at this point I’m deep enough into my relived fight/flight response to question wether it’s her or me that’s been phrasing things wrong all along.
Thankfully, it’s not me getting caught this time.

Let her re-record this with better pronunciation help from the editors. This shit is too dense for anyone who hasn’t participated in highly specific academic hazing to tackle without support, and it is rather embarrassing and stressful.

From start to finish.

This book captivated me from start to finish. Full of reminders of the evaluation of woman and all we overcame. Very well written and read. A great conversation starter with a touch of politics and religion. I highly recommend this book and perhaps eye opener.

Where did they find this narrator?

"Hey, none of us speak French so do you think we should check if she's pronouncing these words right?"

"Naah, I'm sure it's fine."

Seriously though. this narrator is just constantly mispronouncing even common, English words. I don't understand how this made it through editing. Excellent book. perplexingly shoddy reading.

I'm leaving the overall rating high so people don't think the book itself is being reviewed poorly, but know that the reading is probably gonna frustrate you a bit.