Barry Lyndon

De: William Makepeace Thackeray

Narrado por: Jonathan Keeble

Like Tom Jones before him, Barry Lyndon is one of the most lively and roguish characters in English literature. He may now be best known through the colorful Stanley Kubrick film released in 1975, but it is Thackeray who, in true 19th-century style, shows him best.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2013 Naxos AudioBooks

A morality tale made great fun.

Would you consider the audio edition of Barry Lyndon to be better than the print version?

Yes--the story itself is the well-worn 19th-century story of the ne'er-do-well who finally gets what's coming to him. But the energy of the reader, Jonathan Keeble, keeps you engaged.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

It's what's long signaled in the text. Satisfying for the moral purpose.

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

See above. He takes expressive and interpretive risks that might be overdone in another story but work very well in this one. From my other reading of Thackeray I expect the author would have approved the result, and enjoyed it as much as I did.

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

Forget the '70s film--this one's much more fun.

Under the elegant pen of Thackeray and the

spell of Jonathan Keeble’s narration, the story of rogue Barry Lyndon and his “infamous persecutions” kept me wonderfully entertained...and amused. Keebles ability to imbue the “autobiographer’s” self-adulation with such conviction - and yet maintain the author’s facetious intent - not to mention the narrator’s multitude of accents and voices was nothing short of amazing. There are some readers who may carp over some not so politically correct stereotypes, but to them I say “grow up” And commend the rascals tale to anyone in search of splendid Writing and first rate narration.

Hilarious

The times I laughed out loud are too numerous to remember. Narrator was excellent. You will not be disappointed.

Rogue State

The picaresque novel is an irresistible genre. When it follows the sincere but misguided exploits of a Quixote or Pickwick, the result is enchanting. When it follows the adventures of a self-inflated, morally moribund, sophistical rogue who defines "honor" as a matter of dressing, rather than acting, properly, the result is appalling. And fascinating. Like Vanity Fair, this is a novel without a hero.

A passing acquaintance with late 18th Century European history, such as the Seven Years' War and the habits and hypocrisies of Frederick the Great, will heighten your enjoyment. (Barry's barb, "What would Voltaire say?" hits home like a snide thunderbolt.) But it's not essential; Barry's own habits and hypocrisies--and those of the world he strives to inhabit--are more than enough to be getting on with.

Thackeray succeeds so well in recreating the tone of the 18th Century, it's hard to remember that the novel was published in 1844. Jonathan Keeble shines here just as brightly as he did when rendering the career of that other famous, more likable rogue, Lord Byron's Don Juan.

Amazing

Well worth the Kubrick adaptation amazing in its story telling and it’s time period accuracy.