Joseph and His Brothers: Book 1

The Tales of Jacob

De: Thomas Mann

Narrado por: Mark Elstob

Published over a ten-year period between 1933 and 1943, Thomas Mann’s Joseph and his Brothers is an epic four-part novel that works as a retelling of chapters twenty-one to thirty of the Book of Genesis. Described as a “Mythological novel”, It took Mann over sixteen years to write the novel and was considered by the writer as his greatest ever literary achievement.

in this first volume subtitled ‘The Stories of Jacob’, Mann begins with a meditative prelude named “Descent into Hell”, which contextualises the story against a variety of historical, mythological, and historical contexts, before moving on to the story of Joseph’s father Jacob. The following chapters follow Jacob as we learn of him stealing his brother’s birthright, before fleeing to his uncle Laban and his later marriages to Rachel and Leah.

Deploying Mann’s signature capacity for incredible, often mesmerising detail, Joseph and His Brothers brings to life a world of mythology and legend, set within the ancient kingdoms of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Palestine. The result is an immersive, awe-inspiring work of psychological depth – one that is replete with historical detail, ironic humour, and breathtaking grandeur.

This recording is based on John E. Woods definitive English translation, providing an authoritative retelling that is worthy of Mann’s landmark work.©1930 Thomas Mann (P)2025 W. F. Howes Ltd

Joseph and his brothers book1, the tales of Jacob.

This book is one of the best books I have read. The story, translation, and performance far exceeded my expectations.

sugoi nee!

bastante increíble que esta obra esté por fin disponible en audio! espero terminar pronto y seguir con las siguientes entregas! fascinante!

Beautiful

I have waited for years for this to be on Audible, and finally it is, and beautifully read. Magnificent achievement. Please hurry and do the rest of the Joseph books before I die.—(note! I’m 74: get on it!)

Masterpiece

This masterpiece combines the stark realism of Biblical story telling with a profound philosophy of history informed by ancient religions and Jungian psychology. All four volumes should be taken as one novel. What a great event to have these four volumes made available on audio, with such a great reader!

No More, Thanks

I liked Buddenbrooks just fine, but this is something else. The reviews of those who read J&HB in its entirety are mostly along the lines of, "It was really long, but I finished, and isn't that an achievement!" Not too many seem enamored of the actual content.
While listening to Book 1, I repeatedly got the mental picture of a big, overloaded cargo plane that's lumbering SLOWLY toward the runway, then struggling almost in vain to lift off. The plane gets a little air below its wings but never gains much altitude and repeatedly sinks to scrape the ground before bumping up a bit again.
Mann's pedantic tone grates on me ("This is how Scripture tells the story, but I'm going to tell you what REALLY happened"...as if he had some secret source of authoritative information that contradicts the written record.) The syncretism and heterodoxy are relentless. And there's no real dialogue until about hour 12 of this recording. The tedium is just too much for me to want to continue.
Nor is the narrator to my liking. The voices of Joseph and Rachel are particularly grating, and the narrator repeatedly places emphasis on (what I believe to be) the wrong words in a sentence. If anyone can listen to the death of Rachel and say, "Yes, I think that's what a dying woman would sound like when speaking her final words," then they will like the narrator, after all. To me, it was more like the dying opera star belting out the aria at full volume until she expires suddenly at the end. That can make for good (though fanciful) opera, but it doesn't make for good narration of a novel.
As you might guess, I'll be skipping Books 2-4.

joseph and his brothers book 1

I have never left a review before. all of the books I have previously read have usually exceeded my expectations and all the narrators have read with feelings and so well that I am spell bound. but I was so disappointed in all aspects of this book and it's narrator that I want to warn other listeners of their probable disappointment. I was appalled that such a great and noble book ( for I have read the book many times) was narrated by a man with a voice that trivialize it to a heartbreaking extent. none of the characters had any nobility. Isaac sounds like a stupid even petty man. the story of his death treated him in death as a disgusting person. in my reading of the original book, Isaac's death is profound and deeply noving. the voices which the narrator gave the characters showed such a lack of talent that the characters had no lives of their own and sounded like cartoon character and not the powerful individuals that they are in the book and in the Bible. Rachel's voice is actually disgusting and not the voice of the lovely and sweet girl and women she is. perhaps her voice was the absolute worse voice (along with Isaac"s) in the book. the narrator has no talent and does not give the story its magic or entirely powerful quality that the book gives it and that exists even in the brevity of the biblical narration. I was disgusted. also by the choice of using the second translation of the book. the second translation removes all the grandeur of the original book and removes the credibility that thomas man spent years writing it. it sounds like a book hastily thrown together by a careless college student. dear readers, please avoid this audible book. take the time to which expresses the expanse and beauty that reflects mann's intent in writing his masterpiece. my final word on this audible book is "YUCK"!!!