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Fathers and Sons cover art

Fathers and Sons

By: Ivan Turgenev
Narrated by: David Horovitch
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Summary

Exclusively from Audible

After graduating from the University of Petersburg, Arkady Kirsanov and his friend and fellow graduate, Bazarov, travel to Kirsanov's family home, eager to embark on their next adventure. Delighted at the prospect of seeing his son, Arkady's father welcomes them both to the Marino estate. Encouraging dramatic conflict between the opposing generations, Ivan Turgenev wreaks havoc in Marino, ensuring Bazarov's nihilistic and progressive political views clash spectacularly with that of the traditional Russian patriarch's.

Set in a time of conflict and social uprising, the people fought for the abolishment of serfdom and despaired at the daily inequality faced by the lower classes. Turgenev offered astute psychological insight into the conflicting parties, from the portrayal of his two young protagonists to that of their older parents and the various women that they try to court.

Ivan Turgenev lived in imperial Russia. Abroad, he was a highly respected and sought-after author and Fathers and Sons was released to great success around Europe. Whilst it undoubtedly ruffled some feathers back home, the public found Ivan's novel to be a fascinating take on the socio-political change that had started to sweep across Russia. Turgenev died in 1883 so he didn't live to see the revolution come to fruition. Regardless, his text would go on to be read by millions, outliving the Tsars themselves.

Narrator Biography

Having studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, David Horovitch has had a television career spanning over 40 years. One of his most notable roles was in 1984 as Detective Inspector Slack in the first BBC Miss Marple adaptation of The Body in the Library. Due to the success of his character, he returned for four Christmas specials.

He has had roles in other shows such as Just William (1994), Foyle's War (2002) and Wire in the Blood (2005) as well as film appearances in The Young Victoria (2009), 102 Dalmatians (2000), The Infiltrator (2016) and Mike Leigh's Mr Turner (2014).

A longtime star of the stage, in 2015 he played the role of George Frideric Handel in All the Angels by Nick Drake at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. As well as narrating numerous audiobooks, David Horovitch also appeared in Audible's multicast drama, The Oedipus Plays.

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Fathers and Sons

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leabhar síoraí

Bhí sé go hiontach agus bhí aoibhinn liom gach duine sa scéal.

béidh mé ar ais nuair táim níos sine

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13 people found this helpful

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  • M
  • 06-12-20

NARRATION

A good story with good even narration up until the death at the end when it became whispery, hardly audible and then suddenly tortuous, anguished and loud, great for theatre but hard on the ear, could hardly follow in places and will need to find a hard copy to finish it off. The narrator I feel indulged himself in the final chapters and forgot about the listener but having said that, it was a brilliant performance for the stage or radio but not for audiobooks that I want to buy and enjoy. I might otherwise have put my own interpretation on those final chapters. I would like narrators to give a steady, even reading having in mind that a lot of listeners these days are wearing earpods and in any case I would prefer to use my own imagination - that is in my view what enjoying a book means.

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5 people found this helpful

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Beautiful narration

David Horovitch reads and enacts the story beautifully, although why there is no-one on the production team to correct his pronunciation of Russian proper names is a puzzle.

I can imagine that the political views expressed in this novel were quite sensational at the time of writing but over a century later the political arguments were, for me, the least interesting part of the story. However, the book provides a clear perspective into the lives of the various strata of Russian society in the late 19th century.

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3 people found this helpful

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Outstanding!

The narrator, gave an exceptional, multilingual reading. It brought the story to life. Highly recommended!

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2 people found this helpful

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A historical curiosity but not a great novel

An interesting window onto a period when changes were coming about in Russian society.
Some of the characters are wonderfully evoked but the protagonist is more a concept than a real person

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A good book, ending not as good as the rest

good book, great narration and good plot, I personally would have preferred a different ending

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Exquisite

A wonderful novel on many levels. The zeitgeist of the times, the conflict between differ historical perspectives, the complexity of father son relationships: all beautifully drawn and read with such brilliance and sensitivity.
A tours de force. I was utterly transported into these different times snd differing perspectives and the sheer humanitarianism of some of the characters. Thoroughly recommend it.
Julianna

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Brilliant reading of a classic novel

This is a powerful story powerfully read. Indeed the rendering of each character not only enhanced the narrative but helped one to insight into what Turgenev was about. It was like listening to a radio play with the extra of having the scenery described according to the author's excellent observations. This is for you if you enjoy good use of language, interesting characterisation, & something to keep you thinking after the last sentence

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Great listening

I really enjoyed the narrative and of course Russian literature never disappoints. The person reading it was spot on .

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Best version

This is absolutely first-class. The translation is exactly what one would wish: contemporary but totally respectful of the original. Best of all is Horovitch’s reading. Colourful and lively, authoritative and at times immensely poignant, but without any mannered or histrionic performance, this is a masterclass in how to deliver a great classic to a modern audience.
Honestly, I can’t recommend this too highly.

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