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Thérèse Raquin

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About this listen

Once upon a time, a teenaged Kate Winslet (The Reader, Titanic, Revolutionary Road) received a gift that would leave a lasting impression: a copy of Emile Zola’s classic Thérèse Raquin. Six Academy Award nominations and one Best Actress award later, she steps behind the microphone to perform this haunting classic of passion and disaster.

Thérèse Raquin is the story of a young woman forced into an unhappy marriage to her dull, sickly cousin and smothered by her overbearing aunt. When her husband’s childhood friend enters her life, it leads to a torrid affair that sets her spirit free for the first time, but with shattering consequences. Steeped in the atmosphere of 19th-century France and with a darkly rich foreboding, it is a story that brings out the best of its narrator’s incomparable talents.

“It is challenging, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun as well”, said Ms. Winslet of the recording experience. "As a listener, being able to tune out and be taken into another world, an atmosphere, an environment that is being created entirely for you by somebody else’s voice is really a wonderful, magical thing.”

Public Domain (P)2012 Audible, Inc. Classics Marriage Emotionally Gripping Scary

Critic reviews

“Kate Winslet reads as though she is relishing every morsel of the drama…She clearly loves the book, and her pleasure in the text is infectious…she grabs listeners and doesn’t let go.” (AudioFile)
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This is a fantastic listen...so dark and grim and painful! I, as with one of the other reviewers, found myself gasping throughout. The narration is perfect. Loved it....

Fantastic

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Relentlessly bleak and dark tale with no relief. Absolutely not light amongst the darkness, without even a single sympathetic character. Centred around an amoral pair who despite suffering from guilt show no remorse for their actions. And, it goes on and on and on, relentlessly repeating the bleakness of their souls.

Dark, dark and more dark.

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I was hoping that I would enjoy this novel. I did for a little while then I just wanted it to end! I found the storyline incredibly drawn out, (I am not one to shy away from lengthy tomes either, The count of Monte Cristo being a favourite of mine) and monotonous. That might just be an "era" thing though.

Narration made the story.

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I chose this audiobook based on the reviews and also because Kate Winslet was the reader. She is one of the most talented actresses in her generation and I with my children have enjoyed immensely her readings of Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl so wanted to see how she fairs in a more dramatic setting. Her performance was engaging and absorbing. This is a book where dialogue is sparse but Ms. Winslet managed to effectively bring the characters out to life.

I certainly agree with many reviewers that the language was rich and can only imagine how intense it would be in its native language. However the translations became obvious and hard on the ear, especially towards the last quarter of the book where many out of place words were repeatedly used.

What I enjoyed the most was the story. Although every character was detestable and the tale gloomy and desperate (never was there a happy moment in the book) the story unfolded with indulgence. If Zola set out to create a tale and characters of despair he certainly succeeded. I never at any moment felt sorrow for Therese despite her unfortunately upbringing. Unlike many books with rich text and slow moving plots, this was book was intense both in language and scene. I especially enjoyed how Zola carried the bitter story to the very very end. It was the perfect ending to this book.

Absorbing

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I really wanted to like this book, but alas no. The story is bleak, centred around a young couple who were so utterly dark and mournful, permanently. There was no joy or light anywhere in the tale and no sympathetic characters in the entire book. It was a laborious tale that was, unfortunately, made the more so with Kate Winslets mournful reading of the narrative. On a plus note, it's a great book for bedtime, really good to send you to sleep.

Just didn't enjoy this book

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