Twelve Years a Slave

Narrative of Solomon Northup

By: Solomon Northup

Narrated by: Glenn Langohr

Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's Summary

Northup's only written work is his autobiography, Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup. A Citizen of New York, kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and rescued in 1853, from a cotton plantation near the Red River in Louisiana (1853), Northup's slave narrative, the tale of a free African American man who is kidnapped, sold into slavery, and lives as a slave for 12 years, was not only a best seller for its genre and time; it was revolutionary.

Twelve Years a Slave is praised for its meticulous examination of slavery and plantation society, especially against the contrast to his previous life as a musician and citizen of New York. Northup's story has also has also been cited as representative of slavery's horrors and has been used to support the depictions in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Northup's narrative is valuable for the accurate description of his experiences and defines many of the slave experiences that are known. Also included: a study guide.

©2014 Glenn Langohr (P)2014 Glenn Langohr

Do not purchase this version: HORRID NARRATION!

Audible has 8 versions of this wonderful non-fiction book the only real difference is the narrator; 7 of the versions are Whispersync for Voice ready. My advice is to buy the Kindle and Audible versions at Amazon buying from Amazon's Kindle version page. The total combined cost should be approximately $3 to $4. Amazon offers the option of listening to an Audible sample on the book's Kindle page. Find a narrator you like and purchase that version.

This audiobook version with Glenn Langohr narrating is by far the worst narrated of the eight available.

Good story, terrible narration

What didn’t you like about Glenn Langohr’s performance?

Sounded as if he recorded himself reading the book in a tin can. The story was great, the recording wasn't professional. Pales in comparison to the quality and performance of a voice actor in a recording studio.

So bad I couldn't listen to it!

What would have made Twelve Years a Slave better?

It would help if you had someone who can actually read with fluency.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

It was sooooooo bad I could not even listen to the first chapter.

What didn’t you like about Glenn Langohr’s performance?

The "narrator" was worse than a second-grader. This guy cannot read, mispronounces numerous words, and speaks in a monotone. It was the WORST performance I've ever had the misfortune to hear. Worse than an elementary school play.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Twelve Years a Slave?

I've heard the story is good, and was really looking forward to it. But I just cannot endure such a horrendous reader.

Any additional comments?

I'd like to get my money back on this one. It totally sucks. I guess I'll have to rent the movie. :-(

Incredible story, horrible narration.

The only thing that kept me listening was the story. The narrator was extremely difficult to listen to, as he continually mispronounced words or paused in the middle of sentences for no apparent reason. While I could tell that he was reading the book with emotion, and appreciate that, he truly needs to work on improving his narration skills

Not impressed by the narrator...he was horrible.

I almost stopped listening to it due to the narrator. I could determine when he got to the end of lines while reading due to the inappropriate pauses (pauses in sentence when there was no comma or period.) His voice inflections were monotone usually but the occasional up or down was at inappropriate times. Usually I am not one to offer critique but I just couldn't let this one go.

Very distracting reader

I've enjoyed narration from audible before. That is why I paid extra. Plus the fact that this book may have been a little hard to get through for me, however listening to this reader was almost painful.

horrible narration

Narration by Glenn Langohr was not good. His mispronunciation of common words was completely unexcetable. The book would be better received with more animated narration and with a person who knows what they are reading.