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Heart of Darkness
- Narrated by: Greg Wagland
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
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Audie Award Winner, Audiobook of the Year, 2013. Audie Award Nominee, Best Solo Narration, 2013. Graham Greene’s evocative analysis of the love of self, the love of another, and the love of God is an English classic that has been translated for the stage, the screen, and even the opera house. Academy Award-winning actor Colin Firth (The King's Speech, A Single Man) turns in an authentic and stirring performance for this distinguished audio release.
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- By Dr on 31-10-16
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This quintessential coming-of-age novel describes the early life of Stephen Dedalus. It is set in Ireland during the 19th century, which was a time of emerging Irish nationalism and conservative Catholicism. Highly autobiographical in nature, the work is also notable for its being the first one in which Joyce uses innovative “stream of consciousness” writing style. A Portrait... follows Stephen Dedalus from his babyhood into early adulthood.
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tantalising, tickling all of the senses
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William Pitt the Younger is an illuminating biography of one of the great iconic figures in British history: the man who in 1784 at the age of twenty-four became (and so remains) the youngest Prime Minister in the history of England. In this lively and authoritative study, William Hague himself the youngest political party leader in recent history explains the dramatic events and exceptional abilities that allowed extreme youth to be combined with great power.
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Yawn
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Audie Award Winner, Audiobook of the Year, 2013. Audie Award Nominee, Best Solo Narration, 2013. Graham Greene’s evocative analysis of the love of self, the love of another, and the love of God is an English classic that has been translated for the stage, the screen, and even the opera house. Academy Award-winning actor Colin Firth (The King's Speech, A Single Man) turns in an authentic and stirring performance for this distinguished audio release.
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One boy, one boat, one tiger.... British comedian, actor and broadcaster Sanjeev Bhaskar, OBE performs this brilliant edition of a work of fiction that is loved by fans around the world. After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a 16 year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orangutan - and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. The scene is set for an extraordinary adventure.
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Where do I begin......
- By Amelia on 21-09-20
Summary
'But these chaps were not much account, really. They were no colonists; their administration was merely a squeeze, and nothing more, I suspect. They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force - nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others.'
In fading light on the Thames Estuary near London, as Charles Marlow and his companions relax on deck, waiting for the turn of the tide, he tells of the time he turned ‘freshwater sailor’ on the River Congo. His perilous journey upriver in a little steamboat with a band of white colonialists and a group of cannibals takes him closer to the coveted ivory, closer to Kurtz the rogue agent, closer to certain unspeakable rites and the heart of darkness. Here we encounter the darkness of the jungle; the darkness of forced labour, cruelty, and death; and that darkness that exists in the ‘civilized’ human heart. Serialised in three parts in 1899, this book was first published in 1902.
Joseph Conrad, considered one of greatest novelists in the English language, was born in Poland in 1857, only learning to speak the language fluently in his 20s and always with a strong Polish accent. Frequently, he touches on themes connected with the sea and colonialism, for he had travelled the world as a merchant seaman. He had even skippered a steamboat called Roi des Belges in King Leopold II’s private fiefdom of the Congo; these experiences and encounters find a home in this most disturbing and claustrophobic of stories. For Magpie Audio, Greg Wagland brings a certain vitality and immediacy to his reading of this unabridged classic.
What listeners say about Heart of Darkness
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- sarah
- 02-08-11
Rewarding listen - well read
I hadn't read or heard any Conrad before, so thought I would give this a listen - and glad I did. The text feels quite rich and dense, but I think the narrator's clear and assured delivery really helped a lot - good communication. The recording really captured the atmosphere of the piece, I think, and carried me along - and it felt like a challenging and very rewarding journey to go on! Would recommend.
3 people found this helpful
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- LJ
- 17-02-16
Genius!
Intensely deep. One of the best I've read.
Great narration. Pay less for this book with great narration!
3 people found this helpful
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- Flea
- 09-01-15
Great reading
Excellent reading of a dark and disturbing book. I think this reader really had the tone right for a book published in 1901. Highly recommended.
3 people found this helpful
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- adam f
- 16-09-16
Perfect!
The narrator's voice, cadence and pronunciation were crystal clear. The presentation was neither robotic nor overly dramatic. I was very very pleased.
2 people found this helpful
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- Michael J.
- 14-04-20
Classic, but not good
A pointless slog through pseudo-profundity. Reader did a good job, but couldn't save the story.