Middlemarch - George Eliot - Audio Book

Middlemarch - George Eliot : Named for the fictional community in which it is set, Middlemarch is George Eliot's rich and teeming portrait of provincial life in Victorian England. In it, a panoply of complicated characters attempt to carry out their destinies against the various social expectations that accompany their class and gender.

At the center of the narrative is Dorothea Brooke, a thoughtful and idealistic young woman determined to make a difference with her life. Enamored of a man who she believes is setting this example, she traps herself into a loveless marriage. Her parallel is Tertius Lydgate, a young doctor from the city whose passionate ambition to spread the new science of medicine is complicated by his love for the wrong woman.

Epic in scope and unsurpassed in its study of human nature, Middlemarch is one of the greatest works in all of world literature.

What THEY said about it:

"One of the most profound, wise, and absorbing of English novelsand above all, truthful and forgiving about human behavior."--Hermione Lee

"One of the few English novels written for grown-up people."--Virginia Woolf

"No Victorian novel approaches Middlemarch in its width of reference, its intellectual power, or the imperturbable spaciousness of its narrative. No writer has ever represented the ambiguities of moral choice so fully."--V. S. Pritchett

Regrettably, I have nothing more to say about it apart that I totally agree with them !

The Arabian Nights - Sir Richard Burton - Audio Book

The Arabian Nights - Sir Richard Burton : Though The Arabian Nights are generally known as stories for children, they were originally tales for adults full of adventure, sexuality, violence and the supernatural.

They certainly inspired the imagination of Sir Richard Burton, the 19th century explorer, linguist and erotologist who brought all his worldly experience and a superbly expressive prose style to bear on the tales of Sindbad the Seaman and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Scheherazade must keep her king entertained with stories if she is to avoid the promised sentence of death.

The tales told are mainly of fantasy and love. The tales within the Arabian Nights are light hearted and amusing. More than half of the stories are of charming Princes whose wits are captivated by the beauty of Princesses and the end of such tale are of course "happy". I have to say that its difficult for me to distinguish between what is Arabic and what is Persian in these beautiful tales. It does'nt matter:I am just enjoying it !

Flashback - David Barry - Audio Book

Flashback - David Barry : David Barry's autobiography spans almost five decades of theatre, film and televisionexperience.As a 14 year old he toured Europe with Sir Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh in one of the most prestigious post-war theatre tours.

Vivien Leigh took a shine to him and he saw both sides of her close up. One minute she was sweetness and light, and the next she became a screaming harridan as she publicly berated Sir Laurence.

His is a story that covers everything from the pitfalls of working in live television to performing with hard drinking actors.

The autobiography is well-written and very entertaining. I wish that he will soon write a book about himself, his life, how it is to be an actor and to be sure that after one tour is finished another will come.Of all autobiographies that I read, for example about "sports legend" or of so called "stars", this one is the one you have been waiting for.

Crucible, The - Arthur Miller - Audio Book

Crucible, The - Arthur Miller : Salem, Massachusetts, 1692. A community stands accused of witchcraft, and in the mood of fear and recrimination that quickly develops men denounce their neighbours, truth is perverted by superstition, and an innocent word or deed can be distorted
into damning evidence of guilt.

The voice of reason is drowned by the rising tide of hysteria as events acquire their own momentum and run out of control.

Drawing its inspiration from the McCarthy hearings in the United States in the 1950s, 'The Crucible' uses seventeenth-century history to explore the consequences for society when men allow the dark forces of unreason to be unleashed.

Do we really have to go back in the 50s to read the story of such an event? Today, in the 21st century, there are still and it seems to me more and more such events which are happening. Just listen to this audio book : the story is a masterpiece.

Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift - Audio Book

Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift : "A masterwork of irony that contains both a dark and bitter meaning and a joyous, extraordinary creativity of imagination. That's why it has lived for so long." Malcom Bradbury

Gulliver's Travels tells of the fantastic voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, an Englishman and ship's surgeon, who travels to the "several remote nations of the world." In the beginning, he becomes shipwrecked in the land of Lilliput, where the distressed inhabitants are only six inches tall. His second voyage takes him to Brobdingnag, where lives a race of giants. At Glubdubdrib, the Island of Sorcerers, he speaks with great men of the past and learns from them the lies of history. Further adventures find Gulliver in a land ruled by intelligent horses.

This novel contains everything to content children as well as adults

Homor Audiobooks - Great fun!

I you're in to having time off from the rather serious biz of Art and Drama, then listening to an audiobook with humorous content might just be it! This blog about humor audiobooks offers a great selection.

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Alexander's Bridge - Willa Cather - Audio Book

Alexander's Bridge - Willa Cather : There is a pleasure in listening to the imagery of Alexander's Bridge that is similar to viewing a beautiful watercolor, as in the following description of a Boston street in late afternoon: "The sun sank rapidly; the silvery light had faded from the bare boughs and the watery twilight was setting in when Wilson at last walked down the hill, descending into cooler and cooler depths of grayish shadow."

Against this delicate imagery, Willa Cather renders the tough inner terrain of a man in mid-life crisis. Bartley Alexander is a master bridge engineer. At forty-three he is at the height of his power, comfortable with success and all it brings. Yet he yearns for the lost vibrancy of his youth. He leads a double life, veering between his beautiful, accomplished wife and his mistress, an actress he knew as a student in Paris. This conflict creates a crack in the structure of his life which ultimately undermines him.

After such an introduction there is nothing left to say because I could'nt say it better.

Michelangelo - George Bull - Audio Book

Michelangelo - George Bull : Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was recognized in his lifetime as the greatest living artist, creator of a succession of masterpieces in sculpture, fresco painting, and architecture. In all his work, Michelangelo impressed his contemporaries as a forceful personality, a divine genius endowed with terribilit, or intense emotional power. Often portrayed as a solitary and austere figure, he in fact enjoyed a remarkable range of friendships, and those he loved and hated, served or resisted, are presented here, from his family and fellow artists to the popes, nobles, and rulers of Europe.

A magnificent story which brings us back into the Italian Renaissance.

Ballet Stories - David Angus - Audio Book

Ballet Stories - David Angus : The magic of ballet is evoked in these enchanting stories presented with many musical excerpts from the works themselves. The stories of two French ballets - Giselle and Coppelia - and the three great ballets by Tchaikovsky are presented in engaging style by Jenny Agutter, who was herself a dancer before turning to acting.

These are tales of princes and princesses, of good fairies and bad witches, and, in Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, the brave soldier and Clara - but does it happen, or is it a dream?

How lovely it is to embark on such a journey !

Searching for the Sound - Phil Lesh - Audio Book

Searching for the Sound - Phil Lesh : The bass player for the greatest improvisational band in American history tells the full, true story of his life, Jerry Garcia, and the Grateful Dead.

Phil Lesh first met Jerry Garcia in 1959 in the clubs of Palo Alto, California. At Garcia's suggestion, Lesh learned to play the electric bass and joined him in a new group that blended R & B, country, and rock 'n' roll with an experimental fervor never before heard.

In time for the Grateful Dead's fortieth anniversary, Phil Lesh offers the first behind-the-scenes history of the Dead. Lesh chronicles how the Dead's signature sound emerged, flowed, and swelled to reach millions of devoted fans, from their first gigs at Frenchy's Bikini-A-Go-Go for an audience of three, to the legendary Acid Tests, to packed stadiums around the world.

A story made of ups and downs, of hope and despair, of violence and of companionship. A story on the fragility of the artist confronted with the success and the price which he has to pay. Very human and moving.

The History of Opera - Richard Fawkes - Audio Book

The History of Opera - Richard Fawkes : Opera, said Moliere, is the most expensive noise known to man.

From its beginnings in the 16th century, through to today when there are as many musical styles as there are composers, opera has fascinated, infuriated, delighted, been censored, been banned,
excited riots, even won a nation its freedom. Here is the colourful story of sometimes temperamental composers and even more temperamental singers working in an art form which has produced some of man's noblest artistic creations.

A very interesting history of the opera with great singers (i.e. Enrico Caruso and Fyodor Chaliapin.). Worth to listen to.