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Layli and Majnun
- Narrated by: Dick Davis, Peter Ganim, Serena Manteghi, Sean Rohani
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
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Layli and Majnun
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Publisher's summary
The Persian epic that inspired Eric Clapton's unforgettable love song "Layla" and that Lord Byron called "the Romeo and Juliet of the East", in a masterly new translation.
The iconic love story of the Middle East, by a 12th-century Persian poet who has been compared to Shakespeare for his subtlety, inventiveness, and dramatic force, Layli and Majnun tells of star-crossed lovers whose union is tragically thwarted by their families and whose passion continues to ripple out across the centuries. Theirs is a love that lasts a lifetime, and in Nezami's immortal telling, erotic longing blends with spiritual self-denial in an allegory of Sufi aspiration, as the amenities of civilization give way to the elemental wilderness, desire is sublimated into a mystical renunciation of the physical world, and the soul confronts its essence.
This is a tour de force of Persian literature, in a translation that captures the extraordinary power and virtuosity of the original.
This audiobook includes a PDF that contains notes from the book.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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- By: Edith Hamilton
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,738
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,502
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,510
Since its original publication by Little, Brown and Company, in 1942, Edith Hamilton's Mythology has sold millions of copies throughout the world and established itself as a perennial best-seller in its various available formats. Mythology succeeds like no other audiobook in bringing to life for the modern listener the Greek, Roman, and Norse myths and legends that are the keystone of Western culture - the stories of gods and heroes that have inspired human creativity from antiquity to the present.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good reading of classical myths
- By Kathi on 03-18-13
By: Edith Hamilton
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Quo Vadis
- A Narrative of the Time of Nero
- By: Henryk Sienkiewicz
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 224
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 188
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 193
Marcus, a Roman officer in Nero's army, risks his career, his family, and even his life when he falls in love with a Christian woman named Callina. In order to win Callina's love, Marcus must come to understand the true meaning of her religion, even as Rome sinks under the excesses of Nero and Christians are thrown to the lions. Quo Vadis brims with passion and life as it explores one of the turning points in history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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loved every word
- By TruckerOlli on 12-02-10
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The Canterbury Tales: A Retelling
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Keith Moore, Toby Leonard Moore, Colin McPhillamy, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 77
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
Author Peter Ackroyd has won the Somerset Maugham Award, the Whitbread Novel of the Year, and the Guardian Fiction Prize, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s immortal work, this retelling of The Canterbury Tales follows a party of travelers as they tell stories amongst themselves about love and chivalry, saints and legends, travel and adventure. Through allegory, satire, and humor, the tales help pass the time during their journey.
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5 out of 5 stars
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WOW
- By Mitchell Drimmer on 02-25-15
By: Peter Ackroyd
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The Complete Collection of Emily Dickinson's Poems
- By: Emily Dickinson
- Narrated by: Elaine Sepani
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 33
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was a reclusive poet whose only friendships were carried out in correspondence. Despite writing almost 1800 poems in her life, very few were published until after her death. Here, the poems are presented in chronological order in their original form, unaltered by editorial revision, in one volume. It offers a wide-angle view of Dickinson's poetic development, from the clunky rhyme schemes of her youth, through valentines she wrote in the early 1850s, to the gloomy, hell-obsessed writings of her last years.
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1 out of 5 stars
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It’s not Emily Dickinson’s Fault
- By Mary Beth Hammond on 04-04-21
By: Emily Dickinson
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Medea
- By: Euripides
- Narrated by: Jonathan Waters
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 122
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 107
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 107
Medea is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides, based upon the myth of Jason and Medea and first produced in 431 BC. The plot centers on the actions of Medea, a former princess of the "barbarian" kingdom of Colchis, and the wife of Jason; she finds her position in the Greek world threatened as Jason leaves her for a Greek princess of Corinth. Medea takes vengeance on Jason by murdering Jason's new wife as well as her own children, after which she escapes to Athens to start a new life.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great Narrator makes this story work
- By cosmitron on 08-02-18
By: Euripides
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Bulfinch’s Mythology
- The Age of Fable, or Stories of Gods and Heroes
- By: Thomas Bulfinch
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cowley
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 69
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 57
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Story4 out of 5 stars 58
First published in three separate volumes from 1855 to 1863, Bulfinch's Mythology quickly became the standard source of classic tales from ancient Greece and Rome, the Norse tradition, and beyond. This edition contains the full text of The Age of Fable, or Stories of Gods and Heroes, the first volume of Bulfinch's seminal work. From stories of the Greek gods of Mt. Olympus to retellings of the Iliad and the Odyssey, from descriptions of mythological monsters to tales of Hindu and Egyptian deities, Bulfinch's versions of these classic stories bring their characters to life.
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4 out of 5 stars
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new stories, and covers alot.
- By Felisa Kay on 03-28-17
By: Thomas Bulfinch
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Eugene Onegin
- A Novel in Verse
- By: Alexander Pushkin, James E. Falen - translator
- Narrated by: Raphael Corkhill
- Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 146
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 128
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 128
Eugene Onegin is the master work of the poet whom Russians regard as the fountainhead of their literature. Set in 1820s imperial Russia, Pushkin's novel in verse follows the emotions and destiny of three men - Onegin the bored fop, Lensky the minor elegiast, and a stylized Pushkin himself - and the fates and affections of three women - Tatyana the provincial beauty, her sister Olga, and Pushkin's mercurial Muse.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Pushkin and Falen are brilliant, Corkhill not bad
- By Jabba on 05-17-15
By: Alexander Pushkin, and others
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Mythos
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 15,794
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 13,559
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Story5 out of 5 stars 13,488
Here are the thrills, grandeur, and unabashed fun of the Greek myths, stylishly retold by Stephen Fry. The legendary writer, actor, and comedian breathes life into ancient tales, from Pandora's box to Prometheus's fire, and transforms the adventures of Zeus and the Olympians into emotionally resonant and deeply funny stories, without losing any of their original wonder. Learned notes from the author offer rich cultural context. This volume is a doorway into a captivating world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Please, will you tell me a story?
- By L. Kampp on 09-24-19
By: Stephen Fry
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Faust
- By: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 54
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is a poem, translated by Bayard Taylor, which tells the beautiful and emotional story of a man who has seen and done it all. However, despite all of his learning and education, his life still feels empty and unaccomplished. He believes wholeheartedly that there is something else out there. Faust, having exhausted all other fields of study, turns to magic for fulfillment. He summons the devil and makes a pact - that if the devil can show him something rewarding and fulfilling, he will give the devil his soul.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Misleading
- By Grant Pajak on 03-29-17
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Idylls of the King
- By: Alfred Tennyson
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 201
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 132
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 132
The Arthurian legend of Camelot has been told many times, but never better than by Alfred Tennyson. Employing some of the most stirring and beautiful blank verse ever written, Tennyson crafted his version of the Knights of the Round Table over the course of nearly fifty years, completing it in 1885. Despite the length of time, Tennyson managed to maintain a high level of style and continuity throughout.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful poetry
- By Roger on 01-15-08
By: Alfred Tennyson
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The Ramayana
- A New Retelling of Valmiki's Ancient Epic - Complete and Comprehensive
- By: Linda Egenes, Kumuda Reddy MD
- Narrated by: Deepti Gupta
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 319
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 290
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 291
Here is one of the world's most hallowed works of sacred literature, the grand, sweeping epic of the divine bowman and warrior Rama and his struggles with evil, power, duplicity, and avarice. The Ramayana is one of the foundations of world literature and one of humanity's most ancient and treasured ethical and spiritual works. Includes an introduction by scholar Michael Sternfeld.
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2 out of 5 stars
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The intricacies of Ramayana lost
- By Sampath Shrivatsa on 11-02-18
By: Linda Egenes, and others
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Sappho
- A New Rendering
- By: Sappho, Henry de Vere Stacpoole - translator
- Narrated by: Leanne Yau
- Length: 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
Sappho was a female poet who was well known in ancient Greece and Rome for her lyrical poetry. She was most famous for her poems involving women who loved women, and it is from her name that sapphic, a term referring to sexual relations between women, originated. This is a compendium of her surviving work, a collection of 54 fragments translated by Henry de Vere Stacpoole.
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3 out of 5 stars
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This book is essentially all poetry.
- By AudioBookRomance on 08-09-17
By: Sappho, and others
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She Walks in Beauty
- A Woman's Journey Through Poems
- By: Adrienne Rich, Pablo Neruda, Elizabeth Bishop, and others
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd, Campbell Scott, Jane Alexander, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 84
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 63
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Story4 out of 5 stars 58
She Walks in Beauty draws on poetry’s eloquent wisdom to ponder the many joys and challenges of being a woman. Caroline Kennedy has divided the collection into sections that signify to her the most notable milestones, passages, and universal experiences in a woman’s life, and she begins each of these sections with an introduction in which she explores and celebrates the most important elements of life’s journey.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Still struggling with poetry
- By Beatrice on 01-30-12
By: Adrienne Rich, and others
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Night’s Master
- Tales from the Flat Earth, Book One
- By: Tanith Lee
- Narrated by: Susan Duerden
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 193
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 172
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Story4 out of 5 stars 174
Long ago when the Earth was flat, beautiful, indifferent Gods lived in the airy Upperearth realm above; curious, passionate demons lived in the exotic Underearth realm below; and mortals were relegated to exist in the middle. Azhrarn, Lord of the Demons and the Darkness, was the one who ruled the night, and many mortal lives were changed because of his cruel whimsy. And yet, Azhrarn held inside his demon heart a profound mystery which would change the very fabric of the Flat Earth forever.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A gothic fairytale
- By KH on 04-10-12
By: Tanith Lee
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Samson Agonistes
- By: John Milton
- Narrated by: David de Keyser, Philip Madoc, Matthew Morgan, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 51 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 60
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
Samson Agonistes, the 'dramatic poem' by John Milton, was published in 1671, three years before the poet's death. Written in the form of a Greek tragedy, with the Chorus commenting on the action, it follows the biblical story of the blind Samson as he wreaks his revenge on the Philistines who have imprisoned him. A powerful subject, with a personal resonance for the blind Milton, it is a perfect work for the medium of audiobook where poetry and drama can be balanced equally.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Unbelievable
- By Anonymous User on 11-06-20
By: John Milton
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Mythology: Captivating Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Celtic and Roman Myths of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes, and Monsters
- By: Matt Clayton
- Narrated by: Randy Whitlow, Dryw McArthur
- Length: 19 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4 out of 5 stars 37
This audiobook collection includes five captivating books, a huge collection of the best myths and stories of gods, goddesses, monsters, and mortals.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Not what I expected
- By Wayne Willmore on 12-11-18
By: Matt Clayton
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She And Allan
- By: H. Rider Haggard
- Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
- Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 29
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
She and Allan is a novel by H. Rider Haggard, first published in 1921. It brought together his two most popular characters, Ayesha from She (to which it serves as a prequel), and Allan Quatermain from King Solomon's Mines. Its significance was recognized by its republication by the Newcastle Publishing Company as the sixth volume of the celebrated Newcastle Forgotten Fantasy Library series in September 1975.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best of the Trilogy
- By emett holloway barfield III on 05-26-19
By: H. Rider Haggard
What listeners say about Layli and Majnun
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anthony W.
- 10-03-22
Great Book
It was a good read. Some amazing poetry and overall a good message. Read allegorically.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- A Carmack
- 05-11-21
"Cringeworthy" narration spoils all
I'd like to read the book, and I will. But the narrator who reads the part of Majnun is terrible. He cannot read verse, pausing at every line end... his delivery also seems rushed. I'm surprised a house like Penguin could release such a product with its name on it, but maybe they aren't as committed to quality as previously.
And I know this is personal preference but the other two narrators didn't float my boat either. Everything is wrong with the narration of this classic.
The translation seems pitiful at times, as well.
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