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The Awakening
- Narrated by: Walter Zimmerman
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
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However, her novel The Awakening, published 1899, drew a storm of criticism for its "shocking, morbid, and vulgar" story and quickly went out of print. The novel was not resurrected until the 1950s, when participants in the growing women's movement recognized its importance. Today, The Awakening is among the most-read American novels in colleges and universities and is considered an early example of American realism.
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The Death of Ivan Ilych
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Soren Filipski
- Length: 2 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In his perceptive and moving depiction of Ivan Ilych, a worldly careerist facing his own mortality in the midst of a self-absorbed family and indifferent colleagues, Tolstoy provides one of literature's greatest and most memorable reflections on the meaning of the good life and on life as preparation for death.
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Great experience
- By Amazon Customer on 08-03-16
By: Leo Tolstoy
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The Club
- Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age
- By: Leo Damrosch
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In 1763, the painter Joshua Reynolds proposed to his friend Samuel Johnson that they invite a few friends to join them every Friday at the Turk's Head Tavern in London to dine, drink, and talk until midnight. Eventually, the group came to include among its members Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, Edward Gibbon, and James Boswell. It was known simply as "the Club". In this captivating audiobook, Leo Damrosch brings alive a brilliant, competitive, and eccentric cast of characters.
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Wonderful survey
- By Tad Davis on 05-10-19
By: Leo Damrosch
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Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know
- By: Colm Toibin
- Narrated by: Colm Toibin
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Elegant, profound, and riveting, Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know illuminates not only the complex relationships between three of the greatest writers in the English language and their fathers, but also illustrates the surprising ways these men surface in their work. Through these stories of fathers and sons, Tóibín recounts the resistance to English cultural domination, the birth of modern Irish cultural identity, and the extraordinary contributions of these complex and masterful authors.
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Eminently re-readable
- By Ellen-A on 01-02-19
By: Colm Toibin
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The Yellow Wallpaper
- By: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- Narrated by: Jo Myddleton
- Length: 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Instructed to abandon her intellectual life and avoid stimulating company, she sinks into a still-deeper depression invisible to her husband, who believes he knows what is best for her. Alone in the yellow-wallpapered nursery of a rented house, she descends into madness.
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A Visceral Reaction
- By Em on 05-02-12
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The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas
- By: Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
- Narrated by: Edoardo Camponeschi
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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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
- By C. Park on 08-09-18
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Figuring
- By: Maria Popova
- Narrated by: Natascha McElhone
- Length: 21 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Figuring explores the complexities of love and the human search for truth and meaning through the interconnected lives of several historical figures across four centuries - beginning with the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who discovered the laws of planetary motion, and ending with the marine biologist and author Rachel Carson, who catalyzed the environmental movement.
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Stunning
- By Laura on 03-12-19
By: Maria Popova
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The Bondwoman's Narrative
- By: Hannah Crafts, edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
- Narrated by: Anna Deavere Smith
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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An unprecedented historical and literary event, this tale written in the 1850s is the only known novel by a female African American slave, and quite possibly the first novel written by a black woman anywhere. A work recently uncovered by renowned scholar and professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., it is a stirring tale of "passing" and the adventures of a young slave as she makes her way to freedom.
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Poor reading of an important book
- By Hilary on 11-15-04
By: Hannah Crafts, and others
What listeners say about The Awakening
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Mynna
- 05-09-12
Poignantly narrated, attentive and captivative
What did you love best about The Awakening?
Walter Zimmerman narrates vibrantly than Grace Conlin any day.
What did you like best about this story?
Listening to a male's voice was more appealing. Grace Conlin sounded like she was reading a college textbbook and sounded like a bore.
What three words best describe Walter Zimmerman’s performance?
He spoke with depth of an novel that has ranked as one in my top ten
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes...thrice.
Any additional comments?
Wonderful. I have many copies of this title and will treasure this story always.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Rev. Kate
- 11-23-11
A surprisingly captivating story...
If you could sum up The Awakening in three words, what would they be?
A...
What does Walter Zimmerman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Walter's narrative is ideal for the story but could be a bit more captivating in its style.
Any additional comments?
This is about how we often accept less in life... thinking that it's enough, only to discover in time that our path, our acceptance of the ordinary, and our choices have become the walls of our own prison...
A wonderfully rich story, a finely woven life... with a main character who provokes neither affection nor consideration for her situation and her choices, her responses or her relationships until you come to realise you have beome a part of the web of her life... and that by the end you are willingly walking with her to her ultimate freedom.
A good quality story.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Mimi Routh
- 09-05-10
Good value!
I paid cash for this when I had no credits. For a dollar an hour, well, I don't know how they did it so inexpensively, but thank you very much. I gather this work is important to the women's movement and also as American literature. Being a lit major, I can now say I've listened. However, it will take another listen or two and some background study to appreciate the work better. Don't choose it for a fun listen; you'll be put to sleep, hardly awakened, with details of drawing rooms and calling cards and removing the hat and so on. This story is subtle, somewhat like Henry James. I remember wanting to shake the man in "Beast in the Jungle" and holler at him, "SHE LOVES YOU, LUNKHEAD!" That said, the story is almost embroidered on silk or painted with watercolors. The narrator gets the Southern accent nicely, but I never forget he is reading. Maybe this is because of the writing. He does read clearly and the whole production is quite flawless. So if your professor has assigned this work, download and enjoy. I know you will enjoy. OTOH for a really good listen, turn to Diana Gabaldon, Bryce Courtenay, or Alexander Dumas.
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23 people found this helpful
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- Dr. Kevin Lancer
- 09-26-15
Slow at start, but picks up
Where does The Awakening rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This book is about a 2 or 3 in desire to turn on the iphone and listen.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
The begining was tedious and rather boring.
What does Walter Zimmerman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I listen while I multi-task my life. I wouldn't have read this book in text.
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- Darwin8u
- 06-08-12
A Trembling. Bridge Between Tolstoy and Woolf
Wow, not the book a financial advisor should read/listen to right before leaving his wife to go on a business trip. This is another novel where it seems more important (well timed) than it is actually good (well written). Don't get me wrong, I think this is a fine (and important) piece of literary fiction, but it just isn't GREAT fiction. Chopin, to me, is a little like a trembling bridge between Leo Tolstoy and Virginia Woolf that isn't as perfected as Tolstoy and not as consuming as Woolf, but feels like an adequate literary step between the two.
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17 people found this helpful
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- Steve Schmidt
- 09-17-13
Poor Quality
What disappointed you about The Awakening?
The sound Quality left something to be desired. There was a constant high pitch noise in the background
What did you like best about this story?
The Ending. It showed the pointlessness of breaking free
How could the performance have been better?
Better Recording Materials
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
some anger and frustration with Edna (The protagenist)
Any additional comments?
Turn of the Century Creole Culture
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- Jay
- 10-18-15
Good but flawed
It's certainly an interesting book, and its historical significance makes it all the more intriguing. However I found plenty of fault with the selfish "awakening" she finds... Certainly worth the read and a discussion, however.
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- TS
- 12-22-11
Lighter version of Anna Karenina
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
If you enjoy the late 1800s, then I would recommend this book. Chopin writes so exquisitely that you feel as though you were traveling back to that period with her. This book was a shock in its time, and I would guess it opened a door for other writers to take those same liberties. It did end like Anna Karenina though, which was disappointing. It doesn't quite hold up to the current vernacular, which can create a misunderstanding of the story or cause one to become bored.
What didn’t you like about Walter Zimmerman’s performance?
The book aside, I was happy to have Walter Zimmerman read the French pronunciations so well, however, his voice became irritating. Maybe it had to do more with the story though.
Was The Awakening worth the listening time?
Sort of. I belong to a book club and listening to this made the book come alive. With Chopin's use of vivid imagery you could see yourself walking alongside Edna to the tragic end.
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- Terri
- 05-01-12
I had the book, but this is beyond description...
Where does The Awakening rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
One of the best!
What other book might you compare The Awakening to and why?
It is a feminist movement book, probably the first of it's kind.
Which scene was your favorite?
All of them, but hte once that had french words had perfect pronunciation.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, I was hooked.
Any additional comments?
I bought the book, but the experience with Audible was incredible. From now on only audio books, I love it! It is cheaper than the books. I have audible on my phone, my table and my computer. Thank you audible!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Tara Nunley
- 08-31-18
Hard to get into. Performance was lacking.
The story was good from middle to the end.
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