-
A Walk on the Wild Side
- Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Release date: 12-24-09
- Language: English
- Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Regular price: $24.47
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Man with the Golden Arm
- By: Nelson Algren
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 46
A novel of rare genius, The Man with the Golden Arm recounts the life of Francis Majcinek, "Frankie Machine," who returned from World War II with a Purple Heart and a morphine habit. He relies on morphine to numb the pain of a war injury and the guilt he feels for a drunken spree that put his wife Sophie in a wheelchair. Frankie, a card-dealer in an illicit poker game, has now come back to Chicago's West Side after detoxing in the federal prison for narcotics addicts, being exposed again to all the pressures, anxieties, and temptations that put him there in the first place.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
...but it's "paul-I-nah"!
- By Andrew on 11-20-10
-
Never Come Morning
- By: Nelson Algren
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 9
Bruno Bicek, "Lefty," is a prizefighter and small-time hood in Chicago. Boxing is his ticket to escape hard times and gang life, but when Bruno doesn't prevent the brutal gang rape of his girlfriend, Steffi, it tears them apart, their worlds changed forever.
-
This Is Not Fame
- A "From What I Re-Memoir"
- By: Doug Stanhope
- Narrated by: Doug Stanhope, Chad Shank, full cast
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 570
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 520
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 516
Doug Stanhope has been drunkenly stumbling down the back roads and dark alleys of stand-up comedy for over a quarter of a century, roads laden with dank bars, prostitutes, cheap drugs, farm animals, evil dwarfs, public nudity, menacing third-world police, psychotic breaks, sex offenders, and some understandable suicides. You know, just for levity. While other comedians were seeking fame, Stanhope was seeking immediate gratification, dark spectacle, or sometimes just his pants.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Honest as it gets!
- By FromtheCocoon on 06-11-18
-
A Confederacy of Dunces
- By: John Kennedy Toole
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5,136
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,881
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 3,892
The hero of John Kennedy Toole's incomparable, Pulitzer Prize-winning comic classic is one Ignatius J. Reilly, "huge, obese, fractious, fastidious, a latter-day Gargantua, a Don Quixote of the French Quarter". His story bursts with wholly original characters, denizens of New Orleans' lower depths, incredibly true-to-life dialogue, and the zaniest series of high and low comic adventures.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well Done
- By Jon on 09-18-05
-
I, Claudius
- By: Robert Graves
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 16 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,549
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,711
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,716
Here is one of the best historical novels ever written. Lame, stammering Claudius, once a major embarrassment to the imperial family and now emperor of Rome, writes an eyewitness account of the reign of the first four Caesars: the noble Augustus and his cunning wife, Livia; the reptilian Tiberius; the monstrous Caligula; and finally old Claudius himself. Filled with poisonings, betrayal, and shocking excesses, I Claudius is history that rivals the most exciting contemporary fiction.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Unsurpassed, addictive brilliance
- By Chris on 06-09-09
-
Native Son
- By: Richard Wright
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,065
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 911
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 917
Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Simply a classic
- By Noah on 11-11-10
-
The Man with the Golden Arm
- By: Nelson Algren
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 46
A novel of rare genius, The Man with the Golden Arm recounts the life of Francis Majcinek, "Frankie Machine," who returned from World War II with a Purple Heart and a morphine habit. He relies on morphine to numb the pain of a war injury and the guilt he feels for a drunken spree that put his wife Sophie in a wheelchair. Frankie, a card-dealer in an illicit poker game, has now come back to Chicago's West Side after detoxing in the federal prison for narcotics addicts, being exposed again to all the pressures, anxieties, and temptations that put him there in the first place.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
...but it's "paul-I-nah"!
- By Andrew on 11-20-10
-
Never Come Morning
- By: Nelson Algren
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 9
Bruno Bicek, "Lefty," is a prizefighter and small-time hood in Chicago. Boxing is his ticket to escape hard times and gang life, but when Bruno doesn't prevent the brutal gang rape of his girlfriend, Steffi, it tears them apart, their worlds changed forever.
-
This Is Not Fame
- A "From What I Re-Memoir"
- By: Doug Stanhope
- Narrated by: Doug Stanhope, Chad Shank, full cast
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 570
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 520
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 516
Doug Stanhope has been drunkenly stumbling down the back roads and dark alleys of stand-up comedy for over a quarter of a century, roads laden with dank bars, prostitutes, cheap drugs, farm animals, evil dwarfs, public nudity, menacing third-world police, psychotic breaks, sex offenders, and some understandable suicides. You know, just for levity. While other comedians were seeking fame, Stanhope was seeking immediate gratification, dark spectacle, or sometimes just his pants.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Honest as it gets!
- By FromtheCocoon on 06-11-18
-
A Confederacy of Dunces
- By: John Kennedy Toole
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5,136
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,881
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 3,892
The hero of John Kennedy Toole's incomparable, Pulitzer Prize-winning comic classic is one Ignatius J. Reilly, "huge, obese, fractious, fastidious, a latter-day Gargantua, a Don Quixote of the French Quarter". His story bursts with wholly original characters, denizens of New Orleans' lower depths, incredibly true-to-life dialogue, and the zaniest series of high and low comic adventures.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well Done
- By Jon on 09-18-05
-
I, Claudius
- By: Robert Graves
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 16 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,549
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,711
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,716
Here is one of the best historical novels ever written. Lame, stammering Claudius, once a major embarrassment to the imperial family and now emperor of Rome, writes an eyewitness account of the reign of the first four Caesars: the noble Augustus and his cunning wife, Livia; the reptilian Tiberius; the monstrous Caligula; and finally old Claudius himself. Filled with poisonings, betrayal, and shocking excesses, I Claudius is history that rivals the most exciting contemporary fiction.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Unsurpassed, addictive brilliance
- By Chris on 06-09-09
-
Native Son
- By: Richard Wright
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,065
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 911
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 917
Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Simply a classic
- By Noah on 11-11-10
-
You Can't Win
- By: Jack Black
- Narrated by: Bernard Setaro Clark
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 275
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 253
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 253
The favorite book of William Burroughs. A journey into the hobo underworld, freight hopping around the still Wild West, becoming a highwayman and member of the yegg (criminal) brotherhood, getting hooked on opium, doing stints in jail or escaping, often with the assistance of crooked cops or judges. Our lost history revived. With an introduction by Burroughs. A BookSense 77 selection.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Hobo Jack
- By Jim on 08-10-15
-
The 42nd Parallel
- By: John Dos Passos
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 187
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 159
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 159
This first entry in John Dos Passos's celebrated U.S.A. trilogy paints a grand picture of the United States at the dawn of the twentieth century.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Diego Rivera painting in written form
- By Michael G. Price on 01-03-13
-
Hell's Angels
- A Strange and Terrible Saga
- By: Hunter S. Thompson
- Narrated by: Scott Sowers
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,183
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,061
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,053
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas author Hunter S. Thompson rocked the literary world with his mind-bending style of Gonzo journalism. First published in 1966, Hell’s Angels is Thompson’s up-close and personal look at the infamous motorcycle gang during the time when its moniker was most feared.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
love hunter s.
- By cody on 06-24-15
-
Just Kids
- By: Patti Smith
- Narrated by: Patti Smith
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,003
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,693
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,676
Just Kids begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. It serves as a salute to New York City during the late 60s and 70s and to its rich and poor, its hustlers and hellions. A true fable, it is a portrait of two young artists' ascent, a prelude to fame.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Overrated
- By Stan on 04-28-13
-
Naked Lunch
- The Restored Text
- By: William S. Burroughs
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 503
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 388
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 393
Naked Lunch is one of the most important novels of the 20th century, a book that redefined not just literature but American culture. An unnerving tale of a narcotics addict unmoored in New York, Tangiers, and, ultimately, a nightmarish wasteland known as Interzone.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Delightful rendition
- By csk on 10-11-12
-
Junky
- By: William S. Burroughs
- Narrated by: T. Rider Smith, Andrew Garman, Mark Nelson
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 168
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 154
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 157
Burroughs' first novel, a largely autobiographical account of the constant cycle of drug dependency, cures, and relapses, remains the most unflinching, unsentimental account of addiction ever written. Through time spent kicking and time spent dealing, through junk sickness and a sanatorium, Junky is a field report from the American post-war drug underground. It has influenced generations of writers with its raw, sparse and unapologetic tone.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I've read it twice and listened to it once
- By Red Emma on 04-15-14
-
Tender Is the Night
- By: F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 593
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 538
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 534
Set on the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is the tragic romance of the young actress Rosemary Hoyt and the stylish American couple Dick and Nicole Diver. A brilliant young psychiatrist at the time of his marriage, Dick is both husband and doctor to Nicole, whose wealth goads him into a lifestyle not his own, and whose growing strength highlights Dick's harrowing demise. A profound study of the romantic concept of character - lyrical, expansive, and hauntingly evocative.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Was it all just the champagne
- By samuel on 08-19-15
-
Cat's Cradle
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Tony Roberts
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,401
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,929
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,930
Cat's Cradle is Kurt Vonnegut's satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet's ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist; a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer; and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny. A book that left an indelible mark on an entire generation of readers, Cat's Cradle is one of this century's most important works...and Vonnegut at his very best.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
KV at his best.
- By Robert on 06-22-12
-
Suttree
- By: Cormac McCarthy
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 20 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 953
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 856
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 858
No discussion of great modern authors is complete without mention of Cormac McCarthy, whose rare and blazing talent makes his every work a true literary event. A grand addition to the American literary canon, Suttree introduces readers to Cornelius Suttree, a man who abandons his affluent family to live among a dissolute array of vagabonds along the Tennessee river.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Challenging Read/Listen, Narrator Outstanding
- By Riley A. Vann on 03-07-13
-
The White Album
- By: Joan Didion
- Narrated by: Susan Varon
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 302
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 264
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 267
First published in 1979, The White Album records indelibly the upheavals and aftermaths of the 1960s. Examining key events, figures, and trends of the era - including Charles Manson, the Black Panthers, and the shopping mall - through the lens of her own spiritual confusion, Joan Didion helped to define mass culture as we now understand it. Written with a commanding sureness of tone and linguistic precision, The White Album is a central example of American reportage and a classic of American autobiography.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Time Capsule of a Bygone Age
- By Ian C Robertson on 10-21-15
-
The Naked and the Dead
- By: Norman Mailer
- Narrated by: John Buffalo Mailer
- Length: 26 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 149
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 138
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 139
Hailed as one of the finest novels to come out of the Second World War, The Naked and the Dead received unprecedented critical acclaim upon its publication and has since become part of the American canon. This fiftieth anniversary edition features a new introduction created especially for the occasion by Norman Mailer.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
John Buffalo Mailer narrates his father's book
- By J. Larson on 08-11-16
-
Wild Boys
- By: William S. Burroughs
- Narrated by: Luis Moreno
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 25
In this funny, nightmarish masterpiece of imaginative excess, grotesque characters engage in acts of violent one-upmanship, boundless riches mangle a corner of Africa into a Bacchanalian utopia, and technology, flesh, and violence fuse with and undo each other. A fragmentary, freewheeling novel, it sees wild boys engage in vigorous, ritualistic sex and drug taking, as well as prankster-ish guerrilla warfare and open combat with a confused and outmatched army.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Not for the faint hearted
- By Megarian on 06-27-13
Publisher's Summary
With its depictions of the downtrodden prostitutes, bootleggers, and hustlers of Perdido Street in the old French Quarter of 1930s New Orleans, A Walk in the Wild Side has found a place in the imaginations of all generations since it first appeared. As Algren admitted, the book "wasn't written until long after it had been walked . . . I found my way to the streets on the other side of the Southern Pacific station, where the big jukes were singing something called 'Walking the Wild Side of Life.' I've stayed pretty much on that side of the curb ever since."
Perhaps the author's own words describe this classic work best: "The book asks why lost people sometimes develop into greater human beings than those who have never been lost in their whole lives. Why men who have suffered at the hands of other men are the natural believers in humanity, while those whose part has been simply to acquire, to take all and give nothing, are the most contemptuous of mankind."
Critic Reviews
"Deserves to be read by every Catch-22 and Cuckoo's Nest freak just so they can find out what opened the door for [these] two novels....It's not only that before Heller and Kesey there was Algren. It's that Algren is where they come from." ( Rolling Stone)
"The intensity of his feeling, the accuracy of his thought, make me wonder if any other writer of our time has shown us more exactly the human basis of our democracy. Though Algren often defines his positive values by showing us what happens in their absence, his hell burns with passion for heaven." ( New York Times Book Review)
More from the same
What members say
Average Customer Ratings
Overall
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars14
-
4 Stars7
-
3 Stars6
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars1
Performance
-
4.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars15
-
4 Stars5
-
3 Stars2
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars1
Story
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars12
-
4 Stars3
-
3 Stars4
-
2 Stars1
-
1 Stars1
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Beryl
- Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- 02-07-15
Evcellent Story
If you could sum up A Walk on the Wild Side in three words, what would they be?
Interesting Compelling Authentic. Very little resemblance to the film with Jane Fonda, Laurence Harvey and Anne Baxter. Still a great book. Narrator is superb.
What did you like best about this story?
There wasn;t any part of the book that dragged or was boring or used as filler
If you could take any character from A Walk on the Wild Side out to dinner, who would it be and why?
Halle seemed to have the best moral compass.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful