The Magnificent Ambersons

By: Booth Tarkington

Narrated by: Geoffrey Blaisdell

The Magnificent Ambersons chronicles the changing fortunes of three generations of an American dynasty. The family serves as a metaphor for the old society that crumbled after the Industrial Revolution, as a Midwestern town spreads and darkens into a city.

George Amberson Minafer is the spoiled and arrogant grandson of the founder of the family's magnificence. Eclipsed by a new breed of industrial tycoons and land developers, whose power comes not through family connections but through financial dealings and modern manufacturing, George descends from the Midwestern aristocracy to the working class. As the wheels of industry transform the social landscape, the definitions of ambition, success, and loyalty also change.

Orson Welles based his classic film of the same name on Tarkington's novel.

(P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

Pulitzer Prize, Fiction, 1919

"All fiction collections should own a copy." (Library Journal)

Hoosiers will especially enjoy this.

#100 on the Modern Library's 100 Best English Fiction of the 20th c. Being a Hoosier, I found it interesting to read about an area of Indianapolis at the turn of the last century, which was representative of how industrial changes were affecting families' fortunes, neighborhoods, attitudes and social customs. The main character is very unlikable, but becomes interesting in the end.

My biggest problem was the narrator. He was pretty good except when voicing older people, who all (including the old ladies) sounded like Zeke, the old miner in so many movies - I couldn't tell the difference btwn Grandpa, Uncle and other men older than 25. It was especially grating when he voiced older women.

Otherwise, it moved quickly and the writing easily put me back 100 years. Descriptions of clothing, architecture, manners and everything else were quite good. I felt like I had traveled back in time.

Great Narration to a Great Story

Very well narrated. Great story and characters of a time past.

Change - The only thing that is truly constant

Any additional comments?

I find myself thinking of this book often. The past is always beautiful in our eyes, like George Minafer's mother. The present is drab and plain like his aunt. The future is fast, bold, and unwanted like Mr. Morgan. Life moves on, whether we want it to or not. I love the line "Get a Horse!" because those unreliable automobiles are just a fad. -- While this book was written in 1918, it's moral is certainly timeless which is in and of itself is quite ironic. The book does seem to drag just a bit which is why I have given it only 4 stars instead of 5.

Many of the great ones too are soon forgotten

This is one of those fantastic little classics (it won the Pulitzer Prizes second prize for the Novel category in 1919) that while not exactly ignored, certainly aren't read as frequently today as the author's talent should demand. It was made in 1942 into a movie by Orson Wells (his second film) so it does have that anchor to keep it from slipping further into the darkness of the past. I guess old fiction is like old families.

"Nothing stays or holds truly.
Great Caesar dead and turned to clay
stopped no hole to keep the wind away;
dead Caesar was nothing but tiresome bit
of print in a book that schoolboys study
for awhile and then forget."

I guess the same can be said of literature. Most books are eventually pulped. Even the good and many, many of the great ones too are soon forgotten. The writer's impulse is for some glimmer of immortality, but memories and readers are damn fickle things. We collectively shrug off and forget those we recently purchased, those banging the publisher's gongs to get attention, and to hell with all those public domain dead writers -- even if they did write such beautiful books.

Historically Relevant but Presently Outdated

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes. It's place in our established literary history (Pulitzer winner) is obvious though debatable as merit in and of itself, but the book's value as social commentary to the social flux taking place during American industrialization is quite valuable.

Would you recommend The Magnificent Ambersons to your friends? Why or why not?

I thought I just answered that.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes. I found Mr. Blaisdell's performance to be adequate but I was disappointed with his female voices.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

As of today I think I would likely say no, but my inclination may change with time.