Dream Story

By: Arthur Schnitzler

Narrated by: Stephen Dexter

A married couple, Fridolin and Albertine, are troubled by events and jealous of each other’s attentions the night before at a masquerade ball. Suddenly, Fridolin, a doctor, is summoned to the bedside of a dying man, an elderly councilor, whose daughter he finds attractive and vaguely sensual. So begins a series of involvements throughout the night in increasingly dangerous and deviant sexual adventures for Fridolin, who, taken by a friend to a “secret” party, is forced to make more choices that seemingly are beyond his control.

The dreamlike events are rendered more frighteningly real through Schnitzler’s powerfully detailed descriptions, as little by little Fridolin gives in to the demands of the secret celebrants. Do these represent real acts, or is the very fact that he imagines them enough to symbolize his moral decay? Schnitzler gives no answer, but Fridolin himself comes to realize that “No dream is entirely a dream”.

In this superb translation, we recognize the full force of Arthur Schnitzler’s masterwork. Dream Story, also known as Rhapsody: A Dream Novel, was written in 1925 by Schnitzler. It was first published in installments in the German magazine Die Dame, the first illustrated magazine in Germany to cater to the interests of modern women. Dream Story, first published in 1926, was adapted into a film by Stanley Kubrick called Eyes Wide Shut, starring Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise.

©1925; 1971 Otto P. Schinnerer. First published in German as Traumnovelle in 1926. Translation © 1999 by J. M. Q. Davies (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

A great hear.

Truly enjoyed the audio. The reader definitely portrayed the scenes well his tone. Very easy to follow and enjoy.

wowza

this doc can write! the mystique of EWS is intoxicating and it’s mother source hold ups it’s end. reader could have been 5 stars but the random accents were atrocious.

Good story, bad narration

I picked this up because I love the movie Eyes Wide Shut. The story was good, but I personally feel that this a rare example where the movie was better. Perhaps if someone with better voicing skills and maybe even a pleasant German accent then this story really would have been brought to life. All in all though, I liked it

A fine short story of dark fantasy

After seeing Eyes Wide Shut this story was always on my list. It is surprising how closely the film tracks the short story with some scenes nearly mediated verbatim. What was provocative in the late 90s must have been scandalous in 1897. The same themes of sex, monogamy, fantasy and human nature are all there. Very diverting and transportive with great themes and plot development and characters and just as long as it needs to be, a characteristic more authors would benefit from replicating.

Bad narrator, skeevey

Hated the narrator (Stephen Dexter), especially his female voices. The first thing we hear being a horrible falsetto rendition of a girl child didn't help me warm to him, but even after that his narration style grated on me.

I knew this was the basis for Eyes Wide Shut the film, but having never finished watching that I don't know if it would have prepared me... going into this you should be aware of the uncomfortable number of horny descriptions of preteen/teen girls by a man going through a midlife crisis. It was incredibly offputting and I didn't end up liking the overall story either.