Thus Spoke Zarathustra

By: Friedrich Nietzsche

Narrated by: Christopher Oxford

Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

Thus Spoke Zarathustra is one of the most extraordinary - and important - texts in Western philosophy. It was written by Friedrich Nietzsche between 1883 and 1885. He cast it in the form of a novel in the hope that his urgent message of the 'death of God' and the rise of the superman (Ubermensch) would have greater emotional as well as intellectual impact.

Though tarnished somewhat by inappropriate adoption by the Nazi movement in the mid-20th century, Zarathustra remains an immensely important and influential work, particularly as it exhorts the individual to question standard conventions of society in order to pursue a truly ethical and spiritual path.

After 10 years in solitude in the mountains, Zarathustra decides it is time to return to the world so that people can benefit from the fruits of his pondering: 'I would like to bestow and distribute, until the wise have once more become joyous in their folly, and the poor happy in their riches.'

Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a challenging text, but once encountered and absorbed, it cannot be forgotten for both its content and style.

Translation: Thomas Common - revised and updated.

Public Domain (P)2015 Ukemi Productions Ltd

Great Narration!

I grabbed this version because the more popular version had complaints regarding the narration, and I couldn't be happier.

The narrator does all the different voices from old women to donkeys. He's very expressive and doesn't hold back. Very engaging for such a massive work. I finished it in 2 days.

Bravo to Christopher Oxford!

18 of 19 people found this review helpful

Nietzsche is King

This is by far my favorite work by Nietzsche. Intriguing, and the Audible version is excellent.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

A Great Book and Exceptional Reading

This is Nietzsche's greatest work appealing to the ordinary man and non-philosopher as well as one of my most favorite works for its depth and passion. A must for any lover of excellent literature. It would have been easily a five star rating overall, except for the text of an old translation (one of the first in English) by Thomas Common. Newer translations, and there are many, are more flowing and readable but the main conceptions are still intact. Most definitely a must buy for anyone interested in some of the greatest writing and philosophical concepts of our times. Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Excellent

This is a very well done reading of an important book. In the first place, it gives you everything you want from a philosophical audiobook -- it presents a crisp, elegant reading of the material. But I think more importantly and more interestingly it relies on an interpretation of the tone of the book which I have not encountered anywhere else. The narrator eschews the standard bombastic reading of the prose for a far more nuanced, subtle and theatrical reading. I can see how some people might not like that, since it's a fairly unorthodox approach to the tone of the book, but this certainly challenged my previous feelings about the rhythm of the prose (thus also Nietzsche's intent) which is really, I think, a special accomplishment for a philosophical audiobook.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

MYSTERY

This book is not for just anyone, but everyone should in my regard read this book. And one must read it again and again to understand but it's not up to one self if one will actually know it's message.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Agonizing

The narrator did a wonderful rendition however the text for me was agonizing. I'm not that familiar with Nietzsche (only read tid bits) and have heard he's better when he writes about music. This narrative was draining. There were moments when it seemed relevant to me but overall I'm just happy I completed it! It was a feat!

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Perhaps reading it would be better....

Struggled to finish the book. At first it had captured my interest and I was keen to learn about Nietzsche's philosophy but at times it just left like rambling lectures on many tooics. there were definitely great nuggets of wisdom and moments upon which to reflect on, but I feel like it was the English translation that made it a chore to follow. I've read that in it's original language there is a lot of metaphors and wordplay, that maybe was lost on me.

Dense, and possibly need to re-listen

The narrator was brilliant, and made the audiobook worthwhile.

Nietzsche has so many gems splattered around, but you have to have patience as Zarathustra would remark - superfluous one!

Definitely not an easy, philosophical read.

It’s ok at times to not be comprehending every sentence, when you can understand the overall themes and the wisdom pearls when Zarathustra speaks!

Great book, great expression from the reader

As the title suggests. This is a literary and philosophical classic. If you can't make the time to read, take a listen.

the old world poetic style was difficult for me

I had a hard time staying tuned into this due to the " Shakespeareian linguistics implemented in this piece. however, I find the subject matter interesting and shall give it another listen after a time

Best Narration of this book thus far!

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

Yes, if you've ever wondered if the prose of this book could ever been properly and well delivered. Then this is it! Christopher Oxford gives maximum effort and does a magnificent job of really paying attention to the text and appears to fully appreciate and understand it. This culminates in a listening experience that is enjoyable and helps get across some of the nuances of the text. I don't believe this has been as well as this before. If you want to hear this book with a different perspective on delivery - then look no further and get this version without hesitation!

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Dissapointed

This book is stupedlesly dreadful. If I'd cut out about 70% of it I wouldn't affect it' massages that much.

0 of 5 people found this review helpful