A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

By: James Joyce

Narrated by: Colin Farrell

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Golden Globe winning actor and Dublin native Colin Farrell revisits his home country with a moving, authentic performance of one of Irish icon James Joyce’s masterworks, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

The quintessential coming-of-age story follows Stephen Dedalus as he matures in an era marked by budding Irish nationalism and intensely conservative Catholicism. From infancy to adulthood, Stephen struggles to find his place, flitting between periods of guilt-ridden fanatical religious obsession and hedonistic exploration. But even as he is pulled in every direction by family, flesh, faith, and nation, Stephen longs for something seemingly forbidden–the life of an artist.

Joyce’s first work to experiment with stream of consciousness style—a technique that he and his contemporaries developed—A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man evokes both the pains and complexities of growing up and the furious optimism that accompanies youth. Pulling from events from his own past, Joyce weaves a semi-autobiographical recount of life in nineteenth century Ireland, crafting a narrative that is at once tender and sharply satirical. When combined with Farrell’s gentle brogue, Joyce’s tale soars, as much a portrait of the artist as it is a portrait of Ireland itself.

Public Domain (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

An extraordinary reading of a miraculous book. A true gift for the soul.

A true gift for the soul.
A masterpiece in every sense of the word.
Thank you.

Finally

Colin Farrell is the perfect reader for this book. Much easier to follow the weavings of the story with his voice guiding the way.

Exceptional performance of an exquisite work

This book has eluded me over the years for its complexity, but finally I was able to hear it in a way that truly brought it to life. Colin's exceptional performance of these difficult prose made this book come alive with the beauty in which it was intended. Be warned, this is not a title for the casual reader, but for someone who has a fondness for classic literature and appreciates a highly detailed narrative with moving description as the character gains understanding of his life and circumstances, this book will be a welcome addition to your thoughts and mental library.

Colin Farrell is spectacular.

I am new to Joyce and have yet to make it through Ulysses. This was so easy to listen to and Colin Farrell was a large part of that. His reading of Joyce's interpretation of Catholic Hell was perfection, and so ironically comical--the same with his passage about beauty. I would highly recommend.

ka-BOOM

i don't know how to title this dumb review. the book is, obviously, brilliant. nuf said. the reading is good and clear and charming and all that, *BUT* ... just for one thing, when Colin Farrell is speaking for the characters who are (admittedly) not a lot more than foils for our friend Stephen Dedalus, he tends to make them sound like stupider, crass-er, even less-dimensional beings than they should .... and when he's delivering more direct thoughts or lines from Stephen Dedalus himself, Colin Farrell tends to make them sound more ethereal or distant or loftily detached than they need to be .... or something ...... but eh. it eas still an excellent way to take in this book!

Brilliant Narration of 20th Century Masterpiece

Colin Farrell delivers a brilliant reading of this first of three James Joyce novels that comprise the greatest works of 20th century fiction.

Amazing

One of my favorite novels. Joyce is able to capture the growth of Stephen from infant, to adolescent, and ending with adulthood so well. His evolution from devout Catholic to agnostic as he also explores his talents as a poet are captured in Joyce’s writing style with genius. Dense and hard fo read, but so worth it.

Tough book, beautifully read

I spent a lot of time skipping back 30 seconds, because this book requires a lot of concentration. Colin Farrell is an absolutely brilliant reader. Amazon likes to peddle books they spent a ton of money on getting a celebrity to read, even when that celeb does a terrible job. This time, however, they got it so right. I would listen to Colin Farrell read the menu at the Cheesecake Factory.

Excellently performed

I bought the audio book specifically because I love Colin Farrell and was curious to listen to his interpretation of the novel’s characters. I was not disappointed. Colin Farrell is by far the best narrator I’ve heard. He kept me interested and engaged in the storyline. I hope he records more classics for readers to enjoy.

Fantastic

The reader really brings the story to life. I enjoyed the writing style as well