Thérèse Raquin

By: Emile Zola

Narrated by: Kate Winslet

Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Once upon a time, a teenaged Kate Winslet (The Reader, Titanic, Revolutionary Road) received a gift that would leave a lasting impression: a copy of Emile Zola’s classic Thérèse Raquin. Six Academy Award nominations and one Best Actress award later, she steps behind the microphone to perform this haunting classic of passion and disaster. 

Thérèse Raquin is the story of a young woman forced into an unhappy marriage to her dull, sickly cousin and smothered by her overbearing aunt. When her husband’s childhood friend enters her life, it leads to a torrid affair that sets her spirit free for the first time, but with shattering consequences. Steeped in the atmosphere of 19th-century France and with a darkly rich foreboding, it is a story that brings out the best of its narrator’s incomparable talents.

“It is challenging, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun as well”, said Ms. Winslet of the recording experience. "As a listener, being able to tune out and be taken into another world, an atmosphere, an environment that is being created entirely for you by somebody else’s voice is really a wonderful, magical thing.”

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Public Domain (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Kate Winslet reads as though she is relishing every morsel of the drama…She clearly loves the book, and her pleasure in the text is infectious…she grabs listeners and doesn’t let go.” (AudioFile)

worth a listen

"Be careful what you wish for" would make a better title for this book.

I was wondering why Kate Winslet chose this book, published in 1865, to narrate. I now understand that the movie version is due out in 2013. Kate Winslet was attached for a long time to star in the lead role. Then Eva Green replaced her with Gerard Butler as Laurent. In the fall of 2011, Elisabeth Olsen was announced as a replacement in the lead role with Glenn Close as Madame Raquin and Tom Felton. This book has been adapted on film many times and in several languages, going as far back as a silent film adaptation in 1915. That must have been interesting. I'm really looking forward to Glenn Close's eyes burning into Thérèse after Madame Raquin becomes mute and learns the truth.

The French author, Emile Zola, intended to study temperaments and not characters. His main characters were assigned various humors according to Galen's Four Temperaments: Thérèse is melancholic, Laurent is sanguine, and Camille is phlegmatic. The characters are often given animalistic tendencies, every one of them almost entirely consumed by self-interest. Thérèse and Laurent are often rightly described as brutes.

I don't generally finish a book in which I don't actually like ANY of the characters. After all, why should I spend time with them if I don't like them? But Kate Winslet's excellent narration kept holding my attention until I began to understand and better appreciate the story. I'm glad I listened to it, and I can now see its significance and influence on other later works of literature. Stick with it to the end and you'll appreciate the overall story and the style of writing as well. It must have been amazing when they performed this on stage in an opera, which lends itself so well to the drama. An interesting story on many levels.

Great Narration--Crazy Story!

What did you love best about Thérèse Raquin?

I loved the way Zola delves deeply into the psychology of his characters and not just the two main characters, but others as well.

What did you like best about this story?

It is dark, brooding and cynical, but not overbearingly so. I found I enjoyed it as a horror story and as a commentary on French society of the nineteenth century--it works wonderfully as one or the other or both!

What about Kate Winslet’s performance did you like?

To be honest I bought the book for her narration--I was not disappointed! Her voice and inflection are incredible and very easy to follow. She reads with emotion but not obnoxiously--her narration is subtle and she is also wonderful with the French names and places in the story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was disturbing and dark--but in a good way. It makes you think about the way human minds work with the added benefit of seeing how the nineteenth century's view of moral choices is portrayed in the book and how that plays out in the plot.

Wonderful Winslet, Satisfactory Story

Kate Winslet is a gifted actress and she can add talented narrator/story teller to her list of accomplishments. She is reason alone to partake of this audiobook. Zola is a solid writer who delves deeply into flawed characters' motivations and obsessions. However, the writing is not even close to Henry James or D. H. Lawrence as I was hoping for at the start of the book. Definitely worth a listen, just don't expect a classic masterpiece.

Long, long, long

Maybe I just don't enjoy listening to a couple's reptitive and obsessive fretting . Neither character was sympathetic enough for me to care. I do enjoy character intense novels, but this couple never developed any nuanced anything!
Beautiful reading, but, boy, I'd sure like to know what Kate Winslett enjoyed in the novel

Great Narration, Poor Story

As another reviewer said, the narration of Kate Winslet was wonderful and I enjoyed listening to her, I just wish I had enjoyed the story more. I understand it is a study in jealousy and in how people handle guilt and remorse, but the writing style just failed to keep me interested. The idea behind this reminded me very much of Poe's Tell-Tale Heart.

Of course it is a matter of personal preference, but for me I found the story extremely boring and the characters so flawed that I didn't care what happened to any of them. In fact, most every character is so flawed that they become cookie cutter "bad," like the proverbial villian in the black clothing of old movies.

As much as I love listeining to Kate Winslet, the story just didn't catch my interest.

Wonderful reading, but long ... boring story

Kate Winslet delivers an outstanding reading of Thérèse Raquin. However, the story is so dark, repetitive, and long that it eventually becomes tiring. I enjoyed it at first, but the final chapters were painful. You know how this sad tale will end and by those last chapters, you just wish it would!

What a fantastic story!

The story was really gripping from beginning to end. Full of tragedy, lust and human emotion. Kate does an amazing job of narrating. I will be recommending this to my friends and family. Outstanding! I would absolutely listen to Therese Raquin again.

Wow! What a reader!

Where does Thérèse Raquin rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Kate Winslet is so wonderful. Her voice is warm caramel and she just reads without any frills or gimmicks. Zola is so darkly romantic, that I hesitated to buy this book, but Ms. Winslet imbued the story with the dour thrill and suspense that it intended to convey with no histrionics. Never hit a wrong note. I certainly hope she reads more. I rank it in the top 3 of my audiobook listening and I have listened to many books.

What did you like best about this story?

The reading.

Which scene was your favorite?

The book is fairly compelling ,so I don't have a favorite scene, although the description of finding the shop in the Pont Neuf was great.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Just enjoyment.

Any additional comments?

Really delightful.

Depressing

The book is well-written and Kate Winslet is wonderful as a narrator which is why I downloaded the book, but even a good narrator couldn't make the plot less of a downer. Warning: The story is depressing.

Worth it just for the narrator

Would you consider the audio edition of Thérèse Raquin to be better than the print version?

I was very intrigued by this first of Zola's novels, having read Nana in a college class on belle epoque European cities (including Paris). This one was much more narrow in scope, with the focus on the murderous/traitorous couple that bring about the death of Therese's husband. I thought the first half was much more interesting and better paced than the last half, which seemed to just drag on too long (though I understand the beauty of Zola's dissection of the couple's lives post-murder). Definitely worth listening with Kate Winslet narrating (5 stars for that part :)).

What about Kate Winslet’s performance did you like?

Her voice is so wonderful, and I thought she did pretty well with the different male and female characters. I would listen again just to hear her speak for 8 hours :).

gripping and vivid

I've read three of the Zola books before so knew this was going to be gritty and harrowing. As my first audible book though I was blown away at how moving and shocking the narrative is. I gasped out loud several times in horror - Zola certainly knows how to get into ones head with his graphic descriptions of outer desolation and inner torment. Kate Winslet does a tremendous job and really relishes some of his most vivid adjectives - "sanguine, vile, grotesque" to name but a few. Must be riproaring in the original language. Highly recommended and especially as an introduction to Zola who can be heavy going.

walking companion

Kate Winslet is a very acceptable companion trudging the muddy lanes in an early English 'summer'. Her voice is even and pleasant, and she doesn't attempt the appalling voice caricatures of some readers. Have read criticisms of her French accent, but that's to be picky. Given that Zola's characters lead drab lives - picture Degas' 'Absinthe Drinker' - she manages to bring out the drama in what is a pretty bleak tale. I'd listen to her again, and the 4 stars are for her rendition. I've read the book in French and English and would give the story a 3.

Well read

Not all actors make good readers (and not all readers make good actors) but Kate Winslet does a fine job with this tale. There are a few occasions where she misplaces the emphasis in a sentence, and her French pronunciation sometimes seems a bit off: her way of pronouncing Camille as an elongated "Cameeeya" sounded odd to my ears. But on the whole this is an elegantly read audiobook of Zola's harrowing novel.



Minus one star because Audible chose to use a Victorian English translation in the public domain, rather than a better, modern translation such as that by Robin Buss for Penguin.

Interesting

Not my usual thing but its a haunting little tale and beautifully read by KW. It's an interesting look at love and relationships, it took a while for me to get into it and want to listen as I don't think anyone is likeable at all but I eventually intrigued me (along with the language) and is worth a listen.

Dark story, beautifully read

I would have loved to have read the paper version of this book myself but Kate Winslet's reading was the next best thing. The story is mesmerising and the narration drags you into a dark, suffocating atmosphere steadily descending into terrifying madness.

A classic page turner

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely, I already have. Brilliant classic story and excellent production.

What other book might you compare Thérèse Raquin to, and why?

Im reading Suskind's Perfume currently and am struck by the similarities of the two.

What does Kate Winslet bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

She's an amazing narrator.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely.

Therese Racquin

Would you listen to Thérèse Raquin again? Why?

There is a new translation by Adam Thorpe that is out that I would like to read. Audible doesn't seem to credit translators but this would be helpful. My next look at the textwill be this translation.

What other book might you compare Thérèse Raquin to, and why?

Not my usual genre. As a story of passion and violence I have trouble thinking of a better one. Someonecompared it to "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (film). Crime and Punishment?

What about Kate Winslet’s performance did you like?

Her lovely diction and crisp vowels. . Wonderful voice to listen to for hours on end.Unimaginative in some spots and she needed to have read it a little more closely in a few places

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It's not ful of laughs. I wondered at Zola's own history with violence in relationshipsas it was so full of pyschological insights as well as what felt like first hand experience. Wild fight scenes of great abuse betweenLaurent and Therese were completely amazing. The ebb and flow of their despair and their need for psychological escape were breathtaking.

Any additional comments?

It is a contemporary book in its message. It will most likely, sadly, never goout of fashion as a study of the limits of human tolerance for dealing with guilt andwith "cognitive dissonance". .

Therese Raquin

Zola's novel charts the Rake's Progress of the heroine as her actions reap their consequences. Kate Winslet's narration evokes a sense of the excitement and despair, the dank, dark recesses of the shop and the horror and eventual haunting of the principal characters. This audio book deserves it's place on the Audible 100 classics to 'read'.

Fantastic

This is a fantastic listen...so dark and grim and painful! I, as with one of the other reviewers, found myself gasping throughout. The narration is perfect. Loved it....

Do Not Read This If You Are Prone To Depresion!

I have never read/heard such a depressing book in my life. If you are of a depressive persuasion, don’t read it, it will have you cutting your wrists!! If you are not depressed before you read it, you will be by the time you’ve finished it!!
Every character is depressing, the story is depressing, the whole thing is under a cloud. Even Kate Winslet reading it cannot drag it out of the doldrums.
I can understand the concept behind the writing of this book but, really, the Author shouldn’t have bothered.
I like to be entertained by my books....this missed the mark by a million miles!