Imperium
A Fiction of the South Seas
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Imperium
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Narrated by:
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Fajer Al-Kaisi
About this listen
An outrageous, fantastical, uncategorizable novel of obsession, adventure, and coconuts.
In 1902, a radical vegetarian and nudist from Nuremberg named August Engelhardt set sail for what was then called the Bismarck Archipelago. His destination: the island Kabakon. His goal: to found a colony based on worship of the sun and coconuts. His malnourished body was found on the beach on Kabakon in 1919; he was 43 years old.
Christian Kracht's Imperium uses the outlandish details of Engelhardt's life to craft a fable about the allure of extremism and its fundamental foolishness. Engelhardt is at once a sympathetic outsider - mocked, misunderstood, physically assaulted - and a rigid ideologue, and his misguided notions of purity and his spiral into madness presage the horrors of the mid-20th century.
Playing with the tropes of classic adventure tales like Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe, Kracht's novel, an international best seller, is funny, bizarre, shocking, and poignant - sometimes all in the same minute. His allusions are misleading, his historical timelines are twisted, his narrator is unreliable - and the result is a novel that is also a mirror cabinet and a maze pitted with trapdoors. Both a provocative satire and a serious meditation on the fragility and audacity of human activity, Imperium is impossible to categorize, and utterly unlike anything you've heard before.
©2012 Verlag Kiepenheuer & Witsch; Translation copyright 2015 by Daniel Bowles (P)2016 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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-
Story4 out of 5 stars 73
Once upon a time that was called 1828, before all the living things on the land and the fishes in the sea were destroyed, there was a man named William Buelow Gould, a convict in Van Dieman's Land who fell in love with a black woman and discovered too late that to love is not safe. Silly Billy Gould, invader of Australia, liar, murderer, forger, fantasist, was condemned to live in the most brutal penal colony in the British Empire, and there ordered to paint a book of fish. Once upon a time, miraculous things happened....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful, Funny & Oh So Well Written!
- By cowgirl877 on 06-23-17
By: Richard Flanagan
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Zorba the Greek
- By: Nikos Kazantzakis
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,059
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 938
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 936
A wonderful tale of a young man’s coming of age, Zorba the Greek has been a classic of world literature since it was first translated into English in 1952 and made into an unforgettable movie with Anthony Quinn. Zorba, an irrepressible, earthy hedonist, sweeps his young disciple along as he wines, dines, and loves his way through a life dedicated to fulfilling his copious appetites. Zorba is irresistible in this charming audio production by veteran narrator George Guidall.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Drink life to the lees
- By Scot Potts on 04-25-13
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Troubles
- By: J. G. Farrell
- Narrated by: Kevin Hely
- Length: 15 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 90
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 77
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 77
Major Brendan Archer travels to Ireland - to the Majestic Hotel and to the fiancée he acquired on a rash afternoon's leave three years ago. Despite her many letters, the lady herself proves elusive, and the Major's engagement is short-lived. But he is unable to detach himself from the alluring discomforts of the crumbling hotel. Ensconced in the dim and shabby splendour of the Palm Court, surrounded by gently decaying old ladies and proliferating cats, the Major passes the summer.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Absolutely delightful read
- By E. Kim on 02-25-20
By: J. G. Farrell
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My Family and Other Animals
- By: Gerald Durrell
- Narrated by: Hugh Bonneville
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 266
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 224
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 230
The book is an autobiographical account of five years in the childhood of naturalist Gerald Durrell. The book is divided into three sections, marking the three villas in which the family lived on the island. Apart from Gerald (the youngest) and Larry, the family comprised their widowed mother, the gun-mad Leslie, and diet-obsessed sister Margo together with Roger the dog.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Love it, but please mark as Abridged!
- By Meredith Ramirez on 09-14-21
By: Gerald Durrell
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Eon
- By: Greg Bear
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 17 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,237
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,092
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,095
Perhaps it wasn't from our time, perhaps it wasn't even from our universe, but the arrival of the 300-kilometer long stone was the answer to humanity's desperate plea to end the threat of nuclear war. Inside the deep recesses of the stone lies Thistledown: the remnants of a human society, versed in English, Russian and Chinese. The artifacts of this familiar people foretell a great Death caused by the ravages of war, but the government and scientists are unable to decide how to use this knowledge.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Am Epic Original SciFi Read Worth Your Time...
- By Michael on 07-01-12
By: Greg Bear
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Castle of Water
- A Novel
- By: Dane Huckelbridge
- Narrated by: Max Winter
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 360
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 327
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 327
For Sophie Ducel, her honeymoon in French Polynesia was intended as a celebration of life. For Barry Bleecker, the same trip was meant to mark a new beginning - turning away from his dreary existence in Manhattan finance to seek creative inspiration. But when their small plane is downed in the middle of the South Pacific, the sole survivors of the wreck are left with one common goal: survival.
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2 out of 5 stars
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I wanted a happy ending
- By Shanise Bell on 06-20-19
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The Bell Messenger
- By: Robert Cornuke
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 22
Adventurer and author Robert Cornuke delivers an archaeological thriller that crosses the globe and spans two centuries. With these hopeful words, a dying Confederate lad bequeaths his Bible to the Union soldier who just shot him: "Be God's messenger as I have been." And so begins the journey of Elijah Bell's cherished Bible as it travels the world, transforming hearts wherever it goes.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Nice Historical Fiction
- By Michael & Cora on 09-16-24
By: Robert Cornuke
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The Last King of Scotland
- By: Giles Foden
- Narrated by: Mirron E. Willis
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 132
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 72
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Story4 out of 5 stars 72
Shortly after his arrival in Uganda, Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan is called to the scene of a bizarre accident: Idi Amin, careening down a dirt road in his Maserati, has hit a cow. When Garrigan tends to Amin, the dictator, obsessed with all things Scottish, appoints him as his personal physician. So begins a fateful dalliance with the African leader whose Emperor Jones-style autocracy would transform into a reign of terror.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Worst Production Ever
- By James on 01-24-07
By: Giles Foden
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Hook's Tale
- Being the Account of an Unjustly Villainized Pirate Written by Himself
- By: John Leonard Pielmeier
- Narrated by: John Leonard Pielmeier
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story5 out of 5 stars 41
Long defamed as a vicious pirate, Captain James Cook (a.k.a Hook) was in fact a dazzling wordsmith who left behind a vibrant, wildly entertaining, and entirely truthful memoir. His chronicle offers a counter narrative to the works of J.M. Barrie, a "dour Scotsman" whose spurious accounts got it all wrong. Now, award-winning playwright John Pielmeier is proud to present this crucial historic artifact in its entirety for the first time.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A new take on a classic villain
- By Stefan Filipovits on 04-20-19
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The Poet of Tolstoy Park
- By: Sonny Brewer
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 49
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
This book is based on the true life of Henry Stuart. When the 67-year-old former professor finds out he is dying of tuberculosis, he vows to “learn in solitude how to save myself.” He sets off for Fairhope, Alabama, with only the writings of his beloved Tolstoy for company. There, the barefoot poet builds himself a small hut and slowly becomes an inspiration for the rest of the utopian town. When his last few months become his last few years, Henry’s attempt to understand death becomes a lesson on life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great read
- By Jimmy Oaks on 03-23-15
By: Sonny Brewer
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The Monstrumologist
- By: Rick Yancey
- Narrated by: Steven Boyer
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 771
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 680
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 679
Dr. Warthrop is a scientist who tracks and studies real-life monsters. Assisted by his 12-year-old apprentice, Will Henry, Dr. Warthrop discovers a pod of Anthropophagi and launches a hunt to destroy the foul beasts.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Reader Be Warned
- By Eddie on 01-25-15
By: Rick Yancey
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The Irishman's Daughter
- By: V.S. Alexander
- Narrated by: Lucy Rayner
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 146
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 139
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 140
Ireland, 1845. To Briana Walsh, no place on earth is more beautiful than Carrowteige, County Mayo. The small farms that surround the centuries-old Lear House are managed by her father, agent to the wealthy, reckless Sir Thomas Blakely. Tenant farmers sell the oats and rye they grow to pay rent to Sir Thomas, surviving on the potatoes that flourish in the remaining scraps of land. But when the potato crop falls prey to a devastating blight, families Briana has known all her life are left with no food, no resources, and no mercy from the English landowner.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Wasted a credit
- By Emily Coonce on 05-26-19
By: V.S. Alexander
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The Essex Serpent
- A Novel
- By: Sarah Perry
- Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
- Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,136
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,030
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,030
When Cora Seaborne's brilliant, domineering husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was not a happy one. Wed at 19, this woman of exceptional intelligence and curiosity was ill-suited for the role of society wife. Seeking refuge in fresh air and open space in the wake of the funeral, Cora leaves London for a visit to coastal Essex, accompanied by her inquisitive and obsessive 11-year old son, Francis, and the boy's nanny, Martha.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Unbearable Narrator
- By ACB on 06-08-17
By: Sarah Perry
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Captain Nemo
- The Fantastic History of a Dark Genius
- By: Kevin J. Anderson
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 179
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 155
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 157
Captain Nemo is the fictional life story of one of Jules Verne's most memorable characters from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island. It covers his boyhood friendship with the dreamer Jules Verne, adventures aboard sailing ships, battles with pirates, and survival on a mysterious deserted island. Each time he returns home to his beloved France, Captain Nemo shares the tales of his exploits with the struggling writer Verne.
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5 out of 5 stars
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THERE'S MORE TO THE WORLD THAN NAUT
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 11-16-13
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All the Lives We Never Lived
- By: Anuradha Roy
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 48
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
From the Man Booker Prize-nominated author of Sleeping on Jupiter, The Folded Earth, and An Atlas of Impossible Longing, a poignant and sweeping novel set in India during World War II and the present day about a son’s quest to uncover the truth about his mother....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful book
- By Sonia S. on 12-13-19
By: Anuradha Roy
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Death in Venice
- A New Translation by Michael Henry Heim
- By: Thomas Mann
- Narrated by: Simon Callow
- Length: 3 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 402
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 302
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 296
Published on the eve of World War I, a decade after Buddenbrooks had established Thomas Mann as a literary celebrity, Death in Venice tells the story of Gustave von Aschenbach, a successful but aging writer who follows his wanderlust to Venice in search of spiritual fulfillment that instead leads to his erotic doom.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant gem
- By L. Fish on 09-18-04
By: Thomas Mann
What listeners say about Imperium
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Bobby Gillespie
- 03-18-21
Not my cup of tea
Had high hopes for this adventure story based on reviews I read but the narration was drone-like and the excessive verbosity of the writing put me off. No character development, no story to speak of, just a series of over written sequences. I had a very hard time staying focused on this one. Do not recommend.
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