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Vincent Price and Basil Rathbone brilliantly interpret twenty of Edgar Allan Poe's most chilling stories and poems - an unforgettably intense listening experience!
In 1937, Ernest Hemingway traveled to Spain to cover the civil war there for the North American Newspaper Alliance. Three years later he completed the greatest novel to emerge from "the good fight", For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Few novels have had as profound an impact on American culture as On the Road. Pulsating with the rhythms of 1950s underground America, jazz, sex, illicit drugs, and the mystery and promise of the open road, Kerouac's classic novel of freedom and longing defined what it meant to be "beat" and has inspired generations of writers, musicians, artists, poets, and seekers who cite their discovery of the book as the event that "set them free".
Why we think it’s a great listen: Never before has an author’s narration of his fiction been so important to fully grasping the book’s impact and global implications. Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of its monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them.
The best American novel to emerge from World War I, A Farewell to Arms is the unforgettable story of an American ambulance driver on the Italian front and his passion for a beautiful English nurse.
Why we think it’s a great listen: Among the great literary achievements of the 20th century, Lolita soars in audio thanks to the incomparable Jeremy Irons, bringing to life Nabokov’s ability to shock and enthrall more than 50 years after publication. Lolita became a cause celebre because of the erotic predilections of its protagonist. But Nabokov's masterpiece owes its stature not to the controversy its material aroused but to its author's use of that material to tell a love story that is shocking in its beauty and tenderness.
Vincent Price and Basil Rathbone brilliantly interpret twenty of Edgar Allan Poe's most chilling stories and poems - an unforgettably intense listening experience!
In 1937, Ernest Hemingway traveled to Spain to cover the civil war there for the North American Newspaper Alliance. Three years later he completed the greatest novel to emerge from "the good fight", For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Few novels have had as profound an impact on American culture as On the Road. Pulsating with the rhythms of 1950s underground America, jazz, sex, illicit drugs, and the mystery and promise of the open road, Kerouac's classic novel of freedom and longing defined what it meant to be "beat" and has inspired generations of writers, musicians, artists, poets, and seekers who cite their discovery of the book as the event that "set them free".
Why we think it’s a great listen: Never before has an author’s narration of his fiction been so important to fully grasping the book’s impact and global implications. Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of its monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them.
The best American novel to emerge from World War I, A Farewell to Arms is the unforgettable story of an American ambulance driver on the Italian front and his passion for a beautiful English nurse.
Why we think it’s a great listen: Among the great literary achievements of the 20th century, Lolita soars in audio thanks to the incomparable Jeremy Irons, bringing to life Nabokov’s ability to shock and enthrall more than 50 years after publication. Lolita became a cause celebre because of the erotic predilections of its protagonist. But Nabokov's masterpiece owes its stature not to the controversy its material aroused but to its author's use of that material to tell a love story that is shocking in its beauty and tenderness.
A vicious 15-year-old droog is the central character of this 1963 classic, a frightening fable about good and evil, and the meaning of human freedom. In Anthony Burgess' nightmare vision of the future, where the criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the central character, Alex, who talks in a brutal invented slang that brilliantly renders his and his friends' social pathology.
This collection of 15 stories was first published in 1914. James wrote them as descriptions of middle class life in Ireland but in each story one or more characters has an "epiphany," - a moment where the character has a speical moment of illumination. Many of the characters in these stories later appear in his novel, Ulysses.
The Sun Also Rises is one of Ernest Hemingway's masterpieces and a classic example of his spare but powerful style. A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the story introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. Follow the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of the 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates.
Thoreau's classic account of the solitary life, describing his attempts to simplify his life and sort out his priorities by living alone in a cabin beside Walden Pond for nearly two years, is one of the most influential books ever written. The bible of the environmental movement, Walden vividly portrays Thoreau's reverence for nature, and his understanding of the idea that nature is made up of crucially interrelated parts.
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.
While the powerlessness of the laboring class is a recurring theme in Steinbeck’s work of the late 1930s, he narrowed his focus when composing Of Mice and Men (1937), creating an intimate portrait of two men facing a world marked by petty tyranny, misunderstanding, jealousy, and callousness. But though the scope is narrow, the theme is universal: a friendship and shared dream that make an individual’s existence meaningful.
Here are the life and times of T. S. Garp, the bastard son of Jenny Fields, a feminist leader ahead of her times. Here are the life and death of a famous mother and her almost-famous son; theirs is a world of sexual extremes, even of sexual assassinations. The World According to Garp is a novel rich with "lunacy and sorrow", yet the dark, violent events of the story do not undermine a comedy both ribald and robust.
The publication of a new translation by Fagles is a literary event. His translations of both the Iliad and Odyssey have sold hundreds of thousands of copies and have become the standard translations of our era. Now, with this stunning modern verse translation, Fagles has reintroduced Virgil's Aeneid to a whole new generation, and completed the classical triptych at the heart of Western civilization.
The most thorough statement of one of Emerson's recurrent themes, the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency, and follow his or her own instincts and ideas. It is the source of one of Emerson's most famous quotations, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." This essay is a considered a watershed moment in which transcendentalism became a major cultural movement. An American classic.
Alexander was born into the royal family of Macedonia, the kingdom that would soon rule over Greece. Tutored as a boy by Aristotle, Alexander had an inquisitive mind that would serve him well when he faced formidable obstacles during his military campaigns. Shortly after taking command of the army, he launched an invasion of the Persian Empire, and continued his conquests as far south as the deserts of Egypt and as far east as the mountains of present-day Pakistan and the plains of India.
Bob Arctor is a dealer of the lethally addictive drug Substance D. Fred is the police agent assigned to tail and eventually bust him. To do so, Fred takes on the identity of a drug dealer named Bob Arctor. And since Substance D, which Arctor takes in massive doses, gradually splits the user's brain into two distinct, combative entities, Fred doesn't realize he is narcing on himself.
From one of America's most beloved and respected writers comes the classic story of Homer Wells, an orphan, and Wilbur Larch, a doctor without children of his own, who develop an extraordinary bond with one another.
Written in 1952, this hugely successful novella confirmed Hemingway's power and presence in the literary world and played a large part in his winning the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Even though this is such a famous title, I had never read it before and really didn't know much about it. What a treat this audiobook was. For such a short story, it is surprising how strong the character development is. In no time, you feel a strong affinity for the 2 main non-finned characters. Donald Sutherland does an excellent job of narrating, with just the right amount of drama and accent. For much of the story, he was NOT the narrator, he WAS the "old man". One of my top 3 audiobooks, and I have a couple hundred.
34 of 35 people found this review helpful
If you care at all about the English language you must use 2 1/2 hours of your time on the planet listening to this work. It is possibly the simplest scenario imaginable for a novel but is completed with style and economy which is what made Hemingway unique. The icing on the cake is that Sutherland's narration is nearly as exceptional as the book itself. Buy it!
34 of 36 people found this review helpful
This is my favourite type of classic. It is an exciting and thoroughly believable story coupled with a great writing style and profound themes that really resonate. It`s full of action, suspense, hope, fear, love, caring, pride, humility, and insight. I was very impressed and my first thought when I finished the book was: `I have got to share this with my sons`.
I listened to this classic from start to finish uninterrupted on a long airplane flight. Doing that was a mistake, though. I was cheating myself. For a short book, there is a heck of a lot packed in and its messages are presented quite subtly. Without time to reflect on what I'd just read, I (rightly) suspected I'd missed quite a bit. So, the day after finishing it, I undertook a bit of research to see what themes I had missed. I`m glad I did and now have a much better appreciation of this fine novella. I suggest you do the same if you get a similar feeling when you finish it.
And --no surprise-- Donald Sutherland's narration is thoroughly enjoyable and worthy of this great book. At some points in the book it becomes mesmerizing.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
A must buy! Narrated by Donald Sutherland, need I say more.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful
I try to avoid sad books, but I’m glad for the experience. I cried.
The old man is a fisherman, lives in a shack. He’s had bad fishing luck for many days. Most the story is his fishing trip alone on a small boat. He struggles and faces obstacles without complaint. There is a dignity to him. I cried in the scenes with the boy. The boy knows the old man has no food. The old man says he will eat later. He does not ask for help. The boy brings food and they quietly eat it. The boy loved and cared for the old man with such respect and esteem. That really pushed my buttons. I’ve never been loved like that. It’s the way an ideal parent would love a child.
My two emotional reactions. I was sad to experience the old man’s struggles and pain, yet I was inspired and admired his determination and actions. Then I cried as I watched the love from the boy. A slight comfort came in the way one feels after crying.
This book was the catalyst for Hemingway winning the Nobel Prize which probably influenced me to give it 5 stars.
NARRATOR:
Donald Sutherland was wonderful.
Genre: fiction.
Ending: Some comfort, but also sad.
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
I love Hemingway and hadn't taken the time to read this. Donald Sutherland's naration is wonderful and the story is too.
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
I know-but its Donald Sutherland you say- I thought he would do it justice too but it just didn't work at all for me, I read the book years ago and loved it,so I was really disappointed.- I even ended up listening to it twice because my son needed to read it. He just didn't fit the material-( as far as I'm concerned).As for the story, its great.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful
Donald Sutherland's tired, smokey voice is perfect for this reading. You can almost feel the tired, aching old body. Loved it.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful
A classic story brought to life by Sutherland's visceral tones. he does the book justice and I thoroughly enjoyed his skills as a story-teller. He actually became the old man!! Well done
7 of 8 people found this review helpful
Best book I have listened to in years. Narrator was awesome and fit the book perfectly. Should be required listening or reading for all students in school. To be able to write a story like this is a true gift and makes you appreciate what incredible author Hemmingway was.
10 of 12 people found this review helpful
loved the reading. it put me right there in the skiff with the old man. get this you will not regret it
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Perfectly matched to the rich voice of Donald Sutherland, this is a wonderfully detailed and incredibly moving narration of the old man and the sea. Hemingway's descriptive style is memorising.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
incredible and compelling, heartbreaking and beautiful. Sutherland is magnificent in telling the classic the of an old man facing his beloved foe
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Age experience resignation hope acceptance brotherhood are all masterfully crafted together by this genius author.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
The endurance and persistence of the human spirit, the injustice and brutality of life, facing mortality, take your pick! A classic, economically written and melodically and soothingly narrated.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Narrator exactly captured what I felt on first reading 50 years ago.Looking forward to more from Mr.Sutherland.Death in the Afternoon?
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Where does The Old Man and the Sea rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I've only recently started getting into Hemingway, but this is my favourite book of his to date.
I struggle paying attention to literature with audiobooks, but the length and pace of the book made this idea for me.
What about Donald Sutherland’s performance did you like?
Really well read, he really engaged me in the journey.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, and I would have if I had known in advance and picked a suitable time. Instead I was forced to put it down at several points and I found that I was always slowly approaching my final destination to hear a bit more.
Any additional comments?
Great story, but then it is Hemingway, so you knew that already.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I struggle to find time to read with two small children around but I listened to this in one sitting. Fantastic storytelling.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
The reading of narrator Donald Sutherland is very monotonous. It is difficult to listen to a longer periods of time.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Papa made the story of an old man catching a fish so realistic. His greatest
Its said that most Hemingway students end up hating the author. Maybe he was not a nice man, but in this work he wrote like an angle. Clean sharp text and not a hint of ego in sight. Well read by Donald Sutherland, but best listened to without backround noise.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Would you listen to The Old Man and the Sea again? Why?
Yes, it's a classic for a good reason. Lots of detail that built imagery.
Who was your favorite character and why?
all
Which scene did you most enjoy?
all
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I didn't laugh or cry but I was fully involved in the whole adventure
Any additional comments?
Donald Sutherland was perfect as the narrator for this story.
I liked the story, but Sutherland seemed to be reading like a robot a lot of the time. I don't know if it's just Hemingway's writing style, but it's a shame, because Sutherland has such a wonderful reading voice.
Short and precise.
An example of human determination.
Great performance by Donald.
I will definitely listen to this book many times in the years to come.
Donald Sutherland was an awesome narator for such an awesome book. Loved it. Will definitely get onto more Hemmingway books. Thanks.
love it , it is one of the best!!! would like to listen more of his writing. ..