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The Red and the Black
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
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Impoverished young aristocrat Eugene de Rastignac is determined to climb the social ladder and impress himself on Parisian high society. While staying at the Maison Vauquer, a boarding house in Paris's rue Neuve-Sainte-Genevieve, he encounters Jean-Joachim Goriot, a retired vermicelli maker who has spent his entire fortune supporting his two daughters. The boarders strike up a friendship and Goriot learns of Rastignac's feelings for his daughter Delphine. He begins to see Rastignac as the ideal son-in-law, and the perfect substitute for Delphine's domineering husband. But Rastignac has other opportunities too....
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Astounding performance
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Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839-1908) was the greatest writer ever to come from Brazil and one of the masters of nineteenth-century fiction. Susan Sontag calls him "the greatest writer ever produced in Latin America", surpassing even Borges. Harold Bloom says that Machado is "the supreme black literary artist to date". And Allen Ginsburg calls him "another Kafka". And The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas is his masterpiece, a dazzling, tragic, and profound novel that belongs next to the greatest works of his contemporaries Melville and Dostoevsky.
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A hidden masterpiece
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Camille
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First published in 1848, Camille captivated Paris and has inspired countless adaptations. This classic story of love and loss is based on the author’s real-life affair with courtesan Marie Duplessis. Also known as The Lady of the Camellias, the novel follows the courtesan Marguerite Gautier through her tumultuous love affair with handsome—but middle class—Armand Duval. Before their passionate affair is over, one lover must give up everything.
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Fleeing a disastrous marriage, Helen Huntingdon retreats to the desolate mansion, Wildfell Hall, with her son, Arthur. There, she makes her living as a painter. Finding it difficult to avoid her neighbors, she is soon an object of speculation and gossip. Brontë portrays Helen's eloquent struggle for independence at a time when society defined a married woman as her husband's property.
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Excellent performances of an abridged version
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No, the "Moonstone" isn't a celestial relic, it's a gigantic yellow diamond of unearthly beauty that was given to Rachel Verinder as a present on her 18th birthday - and stolen that very night! Betteredge, one of the most beloved butlers in English literature, is the focus of this seminal detective novel, which examines how one family's life is turned upside-down by the theft. And find out why the answers to all of life's problems can be found in the pages of Robinson Crusoe.
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One of the best readings ever
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The Woman in White
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One of the greatest mystery thrillers ever written, Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White was a phenomenal best seller in the 1860s, achieving even greater success than works by Charles Dickens. Full of surprise, intrigue, and suspense, this vastly entertaining novel continues to enthrall audiences today.
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Gripping novel, excellent production
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Northanger Abbey
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As Jane Austen's first completed novel that was submitted to be published, Northanger Abbey is a miraculously weaved tale of love, society, and deception, themes that would come to be synonymous in literature with Austen's name. The young Catherine Morland receives a fantastic opportunity to explore the city of Bath with some family friends, and while there, she experiences a level of mental and emotional growth that was as yet unparalleled in her life.
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Great Listening Experience
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Relinquishing thoughts of a materially rewarding life, the respectably educated Felix Holt returns to his native village in North Loamshire and becomes an artisan. He is a forceful young man of honor, integrity, and idealism, burning to participate in political life so that he may improve the lot of his fellow artisans.
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four and a half stars
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a delight
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By: Anthony Trollope
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What listeners say about The Red and the Black
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- IPod junkie
- 02-25-08
Thanks, Audible.com!
When I first purchased this book, I did not realize how poor I would find the sound quality...see my previous review.
However, now Audible.com has found a recording with the highest possible sound rating...a "4".
This is a vast improvement!
The Red and the Black is a true 19th. Century classic. I think you will find your time rewarded.
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22 people found this helpful
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- Ann M Toebbe
- 05-18-22
Strange story, wonderfully performed
I definitely expected this novel to go in a different direction. But, like its protagonist, it seemed driven to drive off the rails. Fantastic reading by Porter—really subtle characterizations, great pace.
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- BBWrighter
- 01-03-24
Such a tragedy for a young talented man
I liked the deep look into the feelings of love. Were the characters in love with the person or in love with love itself. And I liked the pull between rich and poor and careers of young Julian
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- Russell Blalack
- 07-15-24
Stendahl stands alone
This is a great novel with no precedents and decades ahead of George Eliot and Henry James. Additionally for modern tastes it has great dry humor and casts a thoroughly knowledgeable and penetrating eye at special mores and foibles
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- Kadeen
- 03-25-13
Raw Emotions
What did you love best about The Red and the Black?
The best part of this story for me was how powerful and realistically the characters expressed there emotions.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Julian was my favorite character.
What about Davina Porter’s performance did you like?
Very well done!
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I had outburst of laughter while listening to this book.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Todd Hauter
- 01-12-22
Well done
Interesting read the emotions of the characters swing wildly throughout the story. The story is well written and the narration is excellent .
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Overall
- Andrew M. Collins
- 02-28-10
a great classic, well read
Strange, brilliant, and psychologically acute, Red and the Black is a masterpiece. Well read by Porter.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Ficfangirl
- 05-20-22
Davina Porter always delivers
Davina Porter always delivers a stellar performance. Stendhal's portrayal of the dramatics of youth struck me (no longer so youthful) as spot on.
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Overall
- Erez
- 05-29-08
Almost perfect
In one sense, there's no denying this book is a masterpiece. It seems as though Stendhal set out to dazzle the reader with his incredible understanding of human nature, and that he did. However, looking back at the audiobook after a few weeks have passed, I find it difficult to remember the actual plot. So in that sense, I feel as though the novel could have been a better novel. Nevertheless, I would certainly recommend it for the sheer psychological depth. And, as audiobooks go, the narration on this one is top-notch.
As for the complaints about audio quality in some of the earlier comments: this has apparently been fixed, and the quality is perfectly acceptable.
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26 people found this helpful
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- january
- 04-18-13
Ending spoiled by SparkNotes
I love when I find a book I'm reading on Spark Notes. They have analysis of each chapter and character and a quiz so you can see how well you understood it. I find that I get so much more out of the book this way. Not so with this book. I was about 2/3 of the way through the book when I thought to look it up on SparkNotes. As I was reading the summary and analysis, I realized 2 things. One, I understood the book more than I realized. Second, I was so caught up in reading that, BLURGGGG!!!!!, I read too far and found out what happens in the end.
Finding out how something ends normally doesn't spoil it for me. But with 2 hours to go, I just couldn't see any point in continuing.
The book's ruination by SparkNotes notwithstanding, here's what I thought:
This book was kind of a mix between Pride and Prejudice, and Les Miserables. A love story with some intrigue. The main character, Julien Sorel, is poor but has been taught Latin, so gets the chance to improve his station in life by becoming a tutor for the Mayor's children. But then he falls in love with the Mayor's wife, Mme. de Renal. When rumors start to spread throughout the small town, Julien is sent to seminary school, where he succeeds academically but fails socially. After completing his testing, but before becoming a priest, he is taken on as the secretary for the Marquis de la Mole. And of course he falls in love with the Marquis' daughter. This is where I stopped listening. Besides the fact that I already knew what was going to happen, I could most certainly have figured it out myself. Let's see. Jealous woman, cuckolded husband, fancy pants Marquis and sniveling upstart. You can start to see where this is going to lead. No where good.
Julien is a clueless womanizer. Mme. de Renal is just plain psycho. One minute she's loving, the next she's convinced that Julien doesn't really love her and it was all for nothing, then she thinks God is going to kill her children to punish her for being adulteress. M. de Renal is only worried about making money and keeping and improving his success, making him blind to what's going on in his own family.
This book is a statement on class and society in 19th century France. I found it to be quite disagreeable. None of the characters are likable, and the ending is less than pleasant.
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2 people found this helpful