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The Tale of Genji
- Narrated by: Elaine J. Sepani
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
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The Tale of Genji
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Publisher's summary
Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu wrote The Tale of Genji in the 11th century to entertain the other women in the court. It follows the romantic exploits of the title character, an emperor’s son, as he navigates life within aristocratic society and eventually outside of it. Praised for its psychological insight into the characters’ motivations, the book greatly influenced Japanese culture and is widely considered the world’s first novel. In 1882, Suematsu Kencho translated a condensed version of the text into English, allowing this classic tale to reach a wider audience.
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 773
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 675
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 669
Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family. Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Loved it
- By Kerry on 05-22-10
By: Anne Brontë
-
The Wings of the Dove
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 22 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 142
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 126
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 126
Milly Theale is a young, beautiful, and fabulously wealthy American. When she arrives in London and meets the equally beautiful but impoverished Kate Croy, they form an intimate friendship. But nothing is as it seems: materialism, romance, self-delusion, and ultimately fatal illness insidiously contaminate the glamorous social whirl.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Not an easy read but SO worth it!
- By Julie Gray on 10-31-17
By: Henry James
-
Love and Friendship (aka 'Love and Freindship')
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Joanna Daniell
- Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 135
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 117
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 118
Jane Austen wrote Love and Friendship (originally spelled Love and Freindship [ sic]) when she was just 14 years old. The three notebooks that contain her early works, including this story, are currently on display at the Bodleian Library and the British Museum. Taking the form as letters written by the heroine to the daughter of her friend, this story resembles a fairy tale that lampoons the conventions of romantic stories at the time.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Letter to make up a book
- By Jes_074 on 01-02-15
By: Jane Austen
-
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
- By: Thornton Wilder
- Narrated by: Sam Waterston
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 618
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 457
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 454
Wilder's stories consistently explored the connections between the commonplace and cosmic dimensions of human experience, always returning to fundamental questions about the meaning of life. This Pulitzer Prize-winning tale concerns the lives of five people who fall to their deaths from a Peruvian rope bridge in 1714. A humble Franciscan, Brother Juniper, witnesses the accident and determines to learn about the lives of the victims in order to find out whether this accident happened by chance or by plan.
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2 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Story, But Poor Audiobook Technically
- By RKL on 11-15-13
By: Thornton Wilder
-
Wives and Daughters
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 25 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 640
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 492
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 488
Set in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill, Wives and Daughters centers on the story of youthful Molly Gibson, brought up from childhood by her father. When he remarries, a new stepsister enters Molly's quiet life, the loveable, but worldly and troubling, Cynthia. The narrative traces the development of the two girls into womanhood within the gossiping and watchful society of Hollingford.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
It's not about the ending!
- By Sandra on 07-25-05
-
Agnes Grey
- By: Anne Bronte
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 122
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 113
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 113
Written when women---and workers generally---had few rights in England, Agnes Grey exposes the brutal inequities of the rigid class system in mid-19th-century Britain. Agnes comes from a respectable middle-class family, but their financial reverses have forced her to seek work as a governess.
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1 out of 5 stars
-
Make.it.stop.
- By Wayne on 03-18-22
By: Anne Bronte
-
3 Classic Novels
- Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, Mansfield Park
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Geoffrey Giuliano, The Spire
- Length: 36 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
Welcome to the world of Jane Austen, one of the most beloved authors in the English language. Austen's works are known for their wit, social commentary, and romantic storylines that have captivated readers for generations.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Classic Novels are the best.
- By Maureen Hart on 09-07-23
By: Jane Austen
-
The Insulted and the Injured
- By: Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Narrated by: Alastair Cameron
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 46
At its heart, The Insulted and the Injured is a story of human tragedy and suffering, but it is also a love story. Narrated by a fictitious young author, Vanya, this book tells the story of Natasha and her lover, Alyosha, who also happens to be the son of the cruel Prince Valkovsky.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent
- By Joel A. Griska on 07-26-17
-
Japanese Ghost Stories
- Penguin Classics
- By: Lafcadio Hearn
- Narrated by: Eleanor Matsuura
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 61
In this collection of classic ghost stories from Japan, beautiful princesses turn out to be frogs, paintings come alive, deadly spectral brides haunt the living and a samurai delivers the baby of a Shinto goddess with mystical help. Here are all the phantoms and ghouls of Japanese folklore: 'rokuro-kubi', whose heads separate from their bodies at night; 'jikininki', or flesh-eating goblins; and terrifying faceless 'mujina' who haunt lonely neighbourhoods.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Japanese pronunciation a problem
- By CT on 01-20-21
By: Lafcadio Hearn
-
My Lady Ludlow
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Susannah York
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 63
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 58
Lady Ludlow's appalling snobbery, prejudice and bred-in-the-bone conviction as to the superiority of the English aristocracy and their feudal way of life are deliciously tested, and found wanting, in this gently radical tale of the collapse of a social system. Elizabeth Gaskell's My Lady Ludlow is a brilliant picture of the shift in power in a rural northern village, from the velvety feudal Ludlows to the glitter of the new money rattling through the system courtesy of the brazen baker from Birmingham.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
A treat
- By Tad Davis on 03-04-20
-
Villette
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 22 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 449
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 394
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 395
Hailed as Charlotte Brontë’s “finest novel” by Virginia Woolf, Villette is the timeless semi-autobiographical tale of Lucy Snowe. Left with no family and no money, Lucy goes against her own timid nature and travels to the small city of Villette, France, where she becomes a school teacher in Madame Beck’s school for girls. During her stay, she falls in love—twice—and discovers an independent, inner strength rarely seen in women of her time.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
The Divine Ms. Porter delivers as always
- By peachnmario on 03-17-15
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
The Mill on the Floss
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Laura Paton
- Length: 20 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 352
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 321
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 321
Maggie Tulliver has two lovers: Philip Wakem, son of her father’s enemy, and Stephen Guest, already promised to her cousin. But the love she wants most in the world is that of her brother Tom. Maggie’s struggle against her passionate and sensual nature leads her to a deeper understanding and to eventual tragedy
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great compassion
- By nina lalumia on 12-26-16
By: George Eliot
-
The Idiot
- By: Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Narrated by: Alastair Cameron
- Length: 23 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 52
Young Prince Mishkin is that rare thing - a "completely beautiful human being". He is honest, humble, generous, and selfless, but unfortunately these traits mean he is often mistaken for an idiot. Upon his return to St. Petersburg, after being away at a Swiss sanatorium for the treatment of epilepsy, Prince Mishkin is taken under the wing of the wife of General Yepanchin, who arranges for him to live with the family of her money-obsessed friend Ganya.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
wow.
- By Michal Krawczyk on 04-25-17
-
David Copperfield
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage
- Length: 36 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 7,521
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6,952
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,910
Between his work on the 2014 Audible Audiobook of the Year, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel, and his performance of Classic Love Poems, narrator Richard Armitage ( The Hobbit, Hannibal) has quickly become a listener favorite. Now, in this defining performance of Charles Dickens' classic David Copperfield, Armitage lends his unique voice and interpretation, truly inhabiting each character and bringing real energy to the life of one of Dickens' most famous characters.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A PERFECT narration of an English classic!
- By Wayne on 09-03-17
By: Charles Dickens
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Pillow Book
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3 out of 5 stars
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Too short
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源氏物語 第一帖 桐壺
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「プレバト！！」で大人気の俳人 夏井いつき先生 推薦
『源氏物語』全五十四帖 与謝野晶子による現代語訳をすべて朗読し、
オーディオ化しました。
近代で最初に『源氏物語』を訳した与謝野晶子は、それぞれの帖の冒頭に、その 帖の内容をふまえた歌を一首詠んでいます。その晶子の歌もすべて収録しています。
第一帖 桐壺
光源氏 一～十二歳
主な登場人物 桐壺更衣、藤壺
紫のかがやく花と日の光
思ひあはざることわりもなし
時の帝桐壺は、それほど身分の高くない桐壺更衣を寵愛し、二人の間には輝くような美しい皇子が生まれた。しかし、桐壺更衣は他の女たちの嫉妬や嫌がらせを受け、また病気がちであったために三歳の皇子を残して病死してしまう。
その死を嘆き悲しむ帝であったが、亡き桐壺更衣の生き写しのような先帝の皇女藤壺が入内し、帝の寵愛を受けることとなる。そして、帝のもとで育てられてい た皇子は、亡き母によく似ているということで藤壺をことさらに慕うようになった。
その後、元服した皇子は臣下として源の姓を与えられ、左大臣家の娘葵の上と結婚する。彼はその光り輝くような姿の美しさから、いつしか光源氏と呼ばれるようになった。
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Japanese Ghost Stories
- Penguin Classics
- By: Lafcadio Hearn
- Narrated by: Eleanor Matsuura
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 70
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
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In this collection of classic ghost stories from Japan, beautiful princesses turn out to be frogs, paintings come alive, deadly spectral brides haunt the living and a samurai delivers the baby of a Shinto goddess with mystical help. Here are all the phantoms and ghouls of Japanese folklore: 'rokuro-kubi', whose heads separate from their bodies at night; 'jikininki', or flesh-eating goblins; and terrifying faceless 'mujina' who haunt lonely neighbourhoods.
-
4 out of 5 stars
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Japanese pronunciation a problem
- By CT on 01-20-21
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The Water Margin
- Outlaws of the Marsh
- By: Shi Naian, J. H. Jackson - translator, Edwin Lowe - translator
- Narrated by: Jonathan Booth
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 12
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Story5 out of 5 stars 12
The Water Margin is one of the most popular classics of early Chinese literature. It tells the vigorous story of 108 characters who, falling foul of the established state authorities, are forced to become outlaws. They form a bandit community in Liangshan Marsh, becoming such a formidable force in their own right that they threaten the power of government itself.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Top notch Chinese classic
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By: Shi Naian, and others
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Dream of the Red Chamber
- A Tale of Betrayal
- By: Cao Xueqin
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Overall3 out of 5 stars 6
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Performance2.5 out of 5 stars 6
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Story4 out of 5 stars 6
The Dream of the Red Chamber (also known as The Story of the Stone) is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of China, and considered the greatest of them all. Almost 40 main characters and some 500 minor characters tell the fortunes of the Chia family; the book details mainly the life of Chia Pao-yü, the heir apparent, who is described as very intelligent, but also as carefree and self-indulging. The already wealthy Chia family rises to new heights when Pao-yü's elder sister becomes an imperial consort.
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3 out of 5 stars
-
A very difficult listen
- By Amazon Customer on 05-17-23
By: Cao Xueqin
-
Journey to the West
- By: Wu Cheng'en, Christine Sun
- Narrated by: Michelle Tate
- Length: 42 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 172
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 144
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 144
Journey to the West is one of the Chinese Noble Classics.
In ancient China a magical monkey appears, creating chaos everywhere he goes. The only way to put his tricks and talents to good use is to make him protector of Xuanzang, a young and handsome monk determined to travel from China to India in search of precious scriptures. Monkey and his fellow disciples, Piggy and Sandy, have to protect Xuanzang from monsters and demons who think they can live forever just by taking bites out of the monk.
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1 out of 5 stars
-
Apparently you can't get a full audiobook of this
- By Nick on 05-31-19
By: Wu Cheng'en, and others
-
In Praise of Shadows
- By: Junichiro Tanizaki
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 266
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 225
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 223
In Praise of Shadows is an eloquent tribute to the austere beauty of traditional Japanese aesthetics. Through architecture, ceramics, theatre, food, women, and even toilets, Tanizaki explains the essence of shadows and darkness, and how they are able to augment beauty. He laments the heavy electric lighting of the West and its introduction to Japan, and shows how the artificial, bright, and polished aesthetic of the West contrasts unfavorably with the moody and natural light of the East.
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5 out of 5 stars
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How to listen
- By Anonymous User on 03-25-18
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Musashi
- By: Eiji Yoshikawa, Charles S. Terry - translator
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,869
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,371
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,363
The classic samurai novel about the real exploits of the most famous swordsman. Miyamoto Musashi becomes a reluctant hero to a host of people whose lives he has touched and by whom he has been touched. Inevitably, he has to pit his skill against the naked blade of his greatest rival.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good Historical Novel
- By The Walking Dude on 08-11-19
By: Eiji Yoshikawa, and others
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Monkey King
- Journey to the West
- By: Wu Cheng'en, Julia Lovell - translator - editor - introduction, Gene Luen Yang - foreword
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 491
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 428
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 429
A shape-shifting trickster on a quest for eternal life, Monkey King is one of the most memorable superheroes in world literature. High-spirited and omni-talented, he amasses dazzling weapons and skills on his journey to immortality: a gold-hooped staff that can grow as tall as the sky and shrink to the size of a needle; the ability to travel 108,000 miles in a single somersault. A master of subterfuge, he can transform himself into whomever or whatever he chooses and turn each of his body's 84,000 hairs into an army of clones.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Performance
- By Maedine on 02-28-21
By: Wu Cheng'en, and others
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Kokoro
- By: Natsume Soseki
- Narrated by: Matt Shea
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 486
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 423
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 423
The subject of Kokoro, which can be translated as 'the heart of things' or as 'feeling,' is the delicate matter of the contrast between the meanings the various parties of a relationship attach to it. In the course of this exploration, Soseki brilliantly describes different levels of friendship, family relationships, and the devices by which men attempt to escape from their fundamental loneliness. The novel sustains throughout its length something approaching poetry, and it is rich in understanding and insight.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Heart Of Things, Relationships & Feelings
- By Sara on 04-27-15
By: Natsume Soseki
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War and Peace
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 61 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,841
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 3,871
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,810
Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit. Tolstoy's genius is clearly seen in the multitude of characters in this massive chronicle, all of them fully realized and equally memorable.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Glad I finally decided to read it
- By Plumeria on 09-25-05
By: Leo Tolstoy
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Shōgun, Part One
- The Asian Saga, Book 1.1
- By: James Clavell
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 24 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,341
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,238
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1,237
After Englishman John Blackthorne is lost at sea, he awakens in a place few Europeans know of and even fewer have seen—Nippon. Thrust into the closed society that is seventeenth-century Japan, a land where the line between life and death is razor-thin, Blackthorne must negotiate not only a foreign people, with unknown customs and language, but also his own definitions of morality, truth, and freedom. As internal political strife and a clash of cultures lead to seemingly inevitable conflict, Blackthorne’s loyalty and strength of character are tested by both passion and loss.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Great book poor marketing
- By Ryan on 01-20-24
By: James Clavell
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Monkey
- By: Wu Ch’êng-ên, Arthur Waley - translator
- Narrated by: Kenneth Williams
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 297
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 263
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 262
Considered one of China's great classical novels, Wu Ch'êng-ên's Journey to the West was translated by Arthur Waley in abridged form as Monkey in 1942 and has delighted English readers ever since. It is a riveting adventure story about a priest's quest to obtain holy Buddhist scriptures for the Tang emperor; joining him on this rollicking journey: Sandy, Pigsy, and the mischievous monkey king, Sun Wukong, whose flying cloud and magic cudgel are never far from his infamous deeds.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great translation, but reader struggles distractingly with names
- By utsusemi on 01-24-16
By: Wu Ch’êng-ên, and others
What listeners say about The Tale of Genji
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Kristin
- 11-17-21
Needs work
The narrator is not great at reading the story. Sentences run together where it should be broken up when spoken out loud so the listener can actually follow along. Because this is translated, more care should have been taken. It is truly difficult to follow. Disappointing. I do not recommend this recording.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Rebecca Lee
- 01-17-19
Poorly Translated
The translation is lazy, requiring listeners with an understanding of both Japanese and heian court etiquette. This is an awful book.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Ryan
- 08-14-24
Mistakes in narration distract and detract from the story
It was difficult to enjoy this audiobook due to the many mispronounced words (e.g. awry, dowager, draughtsman, etc.) and misread words (e.g. condescension read as condensation, etc.)
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
- Jago
- 01-02-19
Couldn't listen to an entire chapter
I can't really review the story due to the narrator. The inflection and tone used are almost entirely monotonous and rendered the few Japanese words I know unintelligible. The rhythm of her sentences was so strange (think MS Sam) that even straightforward sentences became difficult to understand.
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11 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Adrian Milik
- 03-17-23
Tough narration
I had a hard time with the narrator. She spoke very quickly and without much inflection. Made it hard to understand sometimes.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- song
- 03-23-19
Poor Narrator
Fascinating slice of life in 11th century imperial Japan nearly ruined by narrator who read too fast with little difference in inflection from character to character and emotion to emotion. Would love to hear this read by someone who was interested in what this book had to say and it’s characters. Would probably add an extra 45-60 minutes that would be well worth it.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 03-01-23
nope
I cannot get passed the horrible robotic narration. She does not take a breath or understand how to punctuation works.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Heather
- 08-27-19
Returned it
I just can’t. The narration is very dry making it difficult to follow. Had to return this book.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
- Arunaa
- 03-19-20
terrible story
a terrible story about a womanizer prince. unbelievable this is a prized work. crazy world.
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