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Buddenbrooks
- The Decline of a Family
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 26 hrs and 57 mins
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Buddenbrooks
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Summary
First published in 1900, when Thomas Mann was 25, Buddenbrooks is a minutely imagined chronicle of four generations of a North German mercantile family - a work so true to life that it scandalized the author's former neighbours in his native Lübeck.
As he charts the Buddenbrooks' decline from prosperity to bankruptcy, from moral and psychic soundness to sickly piety, artistic decadence and madness, Mann ushers the reader into a world of rich vitality, pieced together from births and funerals, weddings and divorces, recipes, gossip and earthy humour. It is perhaps the first great family saga of modern literature, and it brought to public notice a writer of world stature who, three decades later, was to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. David Rintoul gives one of his finest performances in this committed and deeply moving reading.
What listeners say about Buddenbrooks
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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
- ::m::
- 10-08-21
Possibly my favourite Audible book so far
A perfect combination of narrator and plot. The narrator generally keeps his tone neutral, but adds subtle nuance in exactly the right places.
A treat!
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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
- SilverSea
- 22-05-22
Gentle and devastating.
I've never read or listened to Thomas Mann before and the excellent reviews persuaded me to launch upon this long long book. Beautifully crafted and humorously observed, this is the story of the Buddenbrookes, a good old family in terminal decline, along with the society they inhabit in turn of the century Germany. The performance is absolutely flawless and I felt comfortably carried along in another world, where action is sparse, people are flawed and life stories neither gripping nor tedious - a real world. A lovely book for all fans of slowly-unfolded epics.
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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
- Vicuña
- 05-12-20
Best 25 hours I’ve invested in a book
The Audible version is superbly narrated by David Rintoul. To my shame, I’ve never read anything by Mann. My loss, because the 25 or so hours of this book are some of the best I’ve ever invested in a book. Wow! What a blockbuster of a story.
The reader follows the Buddenbrook family over a number of generations and in doing so, gains insight into the vagaries of mid 19th century bourgeois German life. The family are well to do merchants but as with any family, just below the surface all is not quite as good as it seems. The characters are convincing; social climbers, aspirational, jealous, petty, generous, mean minded, humorous, straight laced...every human condition is here. The whole moral compass is explored as fortunes change and relationships develop. I can see why Mann has such an amazing reputation and don’t understand why he doesn’t have a wider readership. His observations are spot on and there’s a lot of humour. Towards the end of the book, a scene at the dentist was so harrowing I couldn’t actually listen to it for a few minutes. The writing is powerful and the translation seems excellent.
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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
- 3rd Colt
- 31-10-21
Magnificent in every way
Rintoul brings life and vitality to one of German literatures finest works. Without forcing himself on the novel, each character is differentiated.
One not to be missed
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Katie girl
- 21-07-22
Excellent
Narration was clear and I could listen to the book easily while doing other things . I thoroughly enjoyed the story .
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dr Robert H G White
- 07-01-20
Masterpiece
Absolutely gripping and profound Nobel Prize winner, an intricate family saga exploring the immorality of business, beautifully narrated by Rintoul
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Bookaholic
- 09-05-17
Truly wonderful narration!
Excellent narration by David Rintoul on what must have seemed like a marathon! I am sure he must have been very tired of Toni and "life" by the end! Probably a well researched story, but much too long - thank goodness for David Rintoul.
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4 people found this helpful
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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
- Amazon Customer
- 30-11-18
wonderful listen but you have to persevere
The narrator should be applauded for such a captivating rendition of a classic. It really is worth the listen.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- marta burmester
- 25-07-20
very good performance
amazing narrator! I was completely inside the plot. I loved the description of Christmas at the Buddenbrooks
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- morril
- 06-02-23
Superb story
This is an excellent book a German Forsyte saga only much better. Mann describes everything beautifully so that you feel you are actually there and the characters are wonderfully portrayed in how they are regarded and fit into the society but also in depth in their personal reflections. The sense of potential doom increases throughout the book
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