Uncle Tom's Cabin

By: Harriet Beecher Stowe

Narrated by: Jim Roberts

Length: 18 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

"So this is the little lady that made the big war." The authenticity of Lincoln's words have been questioned, but there is no question that the work fueled the passion and prejudices of countless numbers. It is a work of overwhelming power and persuasions which has outlived even the most severe critics. Notwithstanding its contribution to the abolitionist movement, the book offers a balanced treatment; there is admiration for the best of Southern gentility and the villain is a Vermonter. The dilemma posed by this book has yet to be solved. What is it to be "a moral human being"? And how can such a person survive in society? Mrs. Stowe's book is about more than just slavery.

©1989 Jimcin Recordings (P)2004 Brian J. Killavey

Could not finish it

I hate to rain on everyone's parade, but this "classic" is simply unlistenable for the average modern reader. I've listened to some marvelous classics over the years, including works of Tolstoy, Chekhov, Hemingway and Proust...but Uncle Tom's Cabin is just so melodramatic and cloying, I could not go on. You can find every Victorian stereotype in this book. The conversations are laughable. In its day, this book served as a sort of Soviet-style agitprop to get people fired up against chattel slavery. Like most works of its kind, it relied heavily on the scatology of the day and probably worked best on those who already possessed a heightened sense of social responsibility and a strong altruistic drive. The Christian drivel that permeates this work is absolutely sickening, and I am NOT anti-Christian or an atheist. If what I have written makes sense to you, you'd better steer clear of this one.

Disappointing Narration

Why did the publishers of this audiobook select a white man with a New York accent to read Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel about the antebellum South and its African-American characters? The narrator's voice is, unfortunately, uninspired and strangely out of sync with the novel itself -- which is dramatic, sentimental, and filled with rich and varied portraits of memorable characters. The reading captures none of this. *Uncle Tom's Cabin* is an astounding, provocative, and disturbing part of American culture (definitely worth reading!), here delivered by a monotonous, jarring, and poorly chosen narrator. Too bad! My advice: read the book on your own -- it's a long book but a quick read, or, select another audio-version, one by a narrator whose voice, tone, and mood match the spirit of Stowe's novel.

Terrible choice of narrator

This is a wonderful book, but the narrator is absolutely horrible! He's stilted and completely undramatic. I agree with the other reviewer -- it's like a bad parody of William Shatner as Captain Kirk. I don't think I'm going to be able to finish the audiobook because of it.