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  • Gulliver's Travels: A Signature Performance by David Hyde Pierce

  • By: Jonathan Swift
  • Narrated by: David Hyde Pierce
  • Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (415 ratings)
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Gulliver's Travels: A Signature Performance by David Hyde Pierce cover art

Gulliver's Travels: A Signature Performance by David Hyde Pierce

By: Jonathan Swift
Narrated by: David Hyde Pierce
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Editor reviews

Gulliver’s encounters with fantastic peoples and creatures - from the small-statured Lilliputians to the stargazing Liputians - reach to the far corners of the world. As narrator, David Hyde Pierce wonderfully captures the wit and irony of this much-loved classic. Despite Gulliver’s detailed, and sometimes cumbersome, descriptions of strange lands and their inhabitants, Pierce doesn’t miss a beat. His melodic voice wraps perfectly around Swift’s eighteenth-century language. His pronunciations of the imaginative languages are delightful, especially the neighing expressions of the Houyhnhnms, a utopian society of horses. Pierce’s consistently matter-of-fact tone fits Swift’s own. His reading highlights the author’s humor and sarcasm, pulling the listener into this fantastic journey.

Summary

Four-time Emmy Award winner David Hyde Pierce is famous for playing the lovably self-important Dr. Niles Crane in the hit TV series Frasier. Now, he brings the same wit and charming arrogance to his Signature Classics performance of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.

More than just a mock travel book and fabulous adventure, Gulliver’s Travels is a character study and social satire that skewers politics, science, religion, philosophy, and pretentiousness with a bite and resonance that remains as fresh today as the day it was published. Maybe that’s why it hasn’t been out of print in nearly 300 years.

Set sail with David Hyde Pierce for a smart, fun, new Gulliver’s Travels experience that’s unlike any other. And stay tuned for more one-of-a-kind performances from actors Leelee Sobiesky, Casey Affleck, Tim Curry, and more, only from Audible Signature Classics.

Public Domain (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Despite Gulliver’s detailed, and sometimes cumbersome, descriptions of strange lands and their inhabitants, Pierce doesn’t miss a beat. His melodic voice wraps perfectly around Swift’s eighteenth-century language. His pronunciations of the imaginative languages are delightful, especially the neighing expressions of the Houyhnhnms, a utopian society of horses. In a book in which the author’s voice comes through on every page, Pierce’s consistently matter-of-fact tone fits Swift’s own. His reading highlights the author’s humor and sarcasm, pulling the listener into this fantastic journey." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about Gulliver's Travels: A Signature Performance by David Hyde Pierce

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Lively and unusual

I chose this audiobook because I took advantage of the 'free first chapter' offer and then couldn't resist getting the rest. I had read a child's version of Gulliver's Travels when I was about seven, and although I enjoyed it at the time, I've often wondered what the original is like.

And it's great! Most people know about Lilliput etc, but the rest makes for just as compulsive listening - if not more so. It was both funny, clever and thought provoking. It is obvious that the book makes many political points which will be most meaningful to those with the appropriate historical knowledge (which I don't really have), but even so I found the humour and sharpness in it very effective and, interestingly, several of the comments seemed pertinent to our laws/politicians etc today!

I thought it was superbly read, even though the English accent as portrayed by an American was slightly odd at times. But that didn't matter at all as it was read in such a lively and spirited manner. And his mastery of the many, many nonsense names made me want to laugh/cheer out loud! If you do choose this book, make sure you stick it to the end as the reading of the last section is brilliant. Full marks, I really enjoyed it.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

DHP's accent is a distraction

What would have made Gulliver's Travels: A Signature Performance by David Hyde Pierce better?

The performance would be much improved by David Hyde Pierce *not* adopting a faux English accent. For one thing the accent he tries to emulate is what I would call "Oxford English", which is not really appropriate for Swift (nor for Gulliver, who is meant to hail from Nottingham). And for another I'm afraid the quite frequent interpolation of a somewhat different accent (Yorkshire?) into occasional syllables means the performance just gets in the way of the text. I enjoy Mr. Pierce as a character actor but someone should disabuse him of the notion that he can carry an extended pastiche like this for very long. I gave up after 2 chapters.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Gulliver's Travels: A Signature Performance by David Hyde Pierce?

Didn't get far enough to have an opinion.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The shaky attempt at an English accent makes the listening experience hard work.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Simply brilliant.

David Hyde Pierce brings this famous title alive with his narration. Hard to believe this was written so many years ago. As relevant now as it ever was. It should be required reading for everyone.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Two lovely stores and two satirical

What did you like most about Gulliver's Travels: A Signature Performance by David Hyde Pierce?

Fantastic, every time he "pronounced" the "words" of the different worlds I could barley keep myself from laughing out loud.

What did you like best about this story?

The first two was clearly the best, the satirical tone was turned on at the end of the of the second book. The dialog with the king of Brobdingnag was just a bash of his culture

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The way he saved the queen when he was on the island of Lilliput

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The strange relation he had to his human wife. Who would accept there significant other to go away for year after almost dying two times?!

Any additional comments?

Easy to recommend this book, was great but its obvious Swift show little respect and appropriation for royalty and lawyers.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

great stuff well read

David Hp has the perfect voice for this story. An elegant sneer that keeps the story rolling.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Novel - essential reading for all

Excellent Novel - essential reading for all

Very well narrated - a true classic

Most enjoyable

JBW

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A True Classic

Evocatively written. The style and reader are beautifully matched. So much more to it than an old book for kids - which is what I have always thought it was.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Highly enjoyable

Really enjoyed this reading. 'Niles Crane' makes an excellent narrator, although his fake posh English accent sometimes slips up. Had never read the story of Gulliver before, and think that listening to it probably added an edge to the irony and veiled sarcasm which reading may not have. Thoroughly recommended

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great book

This book essentially plays out as a personal diary over a handful of adventures.
Do note this book is more a political commentary than anything else, it uses the medium of the strange people and how they are different from ourselves to criticize and occasionally praise our society.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Thah was hard work

This book felt like a chore and, when I thought it had ended, I was only half way through.

The narrator was ideal for the book, but the narrative is tortuously aged and the story is bizarre without holding any intrigue or underlying plot (appreciating that this was meant to be satire).

In essence, Gulliver repeatedly left his family, travelled, met fantastically strange people whom he described in excessive detail and went home.

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1 person found this helpful