Baudolino

By: Umberto Eco

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 18 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

As Constantinople is being pillaged and burned in April 1204, a young man, Baudolino, manages to save a historian and a high court official from certain death at the hands of crusading warriors. Born a simple peasant, Baudolino has two gifts: his ability to learn languages and to lie. A young man, he is adopted by a foreign commander who sends him to university in Paris. After he allies with a group of fearless and adventurous fellow students, they go in search of a vast kingdom to the East - a kingdom of strange creatures, eunuchs, unicorns and, of course, lovely maidens.

Fusing historical events with myths and fables, this is a lighthearted, splendid tale.

©2000 RCS Libri S.p.A (P)2002 Recorded Books

Beautiful wanderer

Reccomended for lovers of history and fantasy and where those two things overlap. If you enjoy getting lost in mysterious medieval maps you will love following the long long tale of Baudolino. Delicious language and loved the reader's voice.

Fantastic story with a great narrator.

A fascinating story made all the better by the philosophy, history, and theology woven throughout.

A fine tale.

This book is a mixture of medieval myth and medieval history as told by a congenital lyre. It's fun to try to detect where the truth ends and fantasy takes over. The reader is, as usual, superb and adds a great deal to the enjoyment of the book. A great escape.

Not as good as I hoped -but it’s Eco’s not as good

Nothing read by George Guidall can be all bad. His reading doesn’t put one to sleep, but this particular novel has the potential to cause one to lapse into a spontaneous coma. I was a Religion Minor in one of the top 5 private colleges that offered one such minor without affiliation! Still, enough on the dang vinegar already. But sometimes it was very very good, and sometimes it was horrid.

Slow strange start, but then it gets better

A bit hard to follow at first, but it grew on me. Glad I stuck with it past the six hour mark. Maybe it is a bit difficult to listen at first because it attempts (and succeeds) at getting you 'inside the head' of a medieval person/character. That is a very strange place for a modern person to visit. He's not a modern person in a medieval setting. The story is rambling, chaotic and sometimes incoherent, but I think that might be deliberate and designed to capture the experience of the characters. The protagonist is a fabulist, and maybe that is an unintentional satire about people in the news in the present moment who indulge in 'alternative facts'. Overall, it's entertaining and funny. Well written. Go with the flow and enjoy.

Great reader and and interesting story

Umberto Eco books are always convoluted and tricky and this book is no exception. I enjoyed the story but the reading was first rate. This probably the best reading I have heard out of the 10+ books I have listened to. He enlivened a story that dragged a little at times. I'm sorry it's over.

wonderful

Umberto Eco delivers in a wonderful snd strange story on merging realities and old myths. excellently narrated

Masterpiece

The great Umberto Eco doesn't need any additional praise or commentary. But I have to give a shout out to George Guidall for his phenomenal narration of Baudolino. What a performance! How did he do it? It takes a special talent to keep pace with Eco's milling crowd of characters, wisecracking and yelling at one another. Not to mention the nonstop linguistic pranks in Italian, Greek, Arabic and assorted fantasy languages. Just amazing and hilarious.

Get this audio version and give it a listen. You can thank me later.

An absolutely fantastic story

Highly recommended to anyone with an imagination, and anyone with skin think enough for blasphemies.

Fantastic Reading of a great sprawling tale

The reading is really first rate. The story itself is one of my favorites, hilarious in many ways, and the reading makes it a pleasure to listen to