Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy, Steven Pacey ISBN: 0-14-086078-9 Publisher: Penguin Audiobooks Pub. Date: November, 1995 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 4 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.24 (50 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: What a Delight
Comment: First, I must confess to being an avid Alan Rickman admirer. The man could read the local phone book and I'd gladly pay to hear it. Thusly, when I found he had done an unabridged set of audio tapes of one of my favorite books -- "The Return of the Native" -- I was thrilled.
"The Return of the Native" is a compelling and beautifully written story. I especially like the way Hardy makes Egdon Heath itself as much a character in the story as the human denizens of the area, breathing life into it through his wonderful word pictures and his special talent for creating moods. Hardy's vivid descriptions and excellent character development make this an enchanting adventure.
Add to this the velvet-smooth voice of Rickman, and you have a treat for the imagination and the ears.
Rickman gives each of the characters his (or her) own separate voice, and manages to do so without forgetting how each should sound. How he kept it straight, I'll never know (I, myself, record books on tape for an educational company and know how complicated that can be!)...what with the many inhabitants of Egdon Heath he had to work with...but, he did. Rickman also actually sang the songs from the book (and not badly, either), adding another dimension.
"The Return of the Native" (unabridged) is a must for anyone who loves good literature on tape, and for anyone who is a fan of Alan Rickman. This is a stunning production and well worth the investment!
Rating: 5
Summary: A great novel wonderfully brought to life
Comment: Warning: This audio book is highly addictive!!!
Maybe you have to like Thomas Hardy before making your mind up to settling down to listen your way through all the 12 tapes. But you will learn to yearn for just another chapter of this, after the first tape. Another word to the yet undecided: the Return is not half as dismal as Jude the Obscure or Tess of the Durberville.
On top of the drama between six persons and the heath, which figures as another dramatis personae, there comes Mr. Rickman's superb reading. He gives every person not only his or her own characteristic voice. But his descriptions of the landscape make you see the scenery (apart from the introduction, the description of Mrs. Yeobright's garden on the day of her fatal excursion is compelling. He makes you feel the sweltering heat of that day). Just two highlights certainly are the dicing-game on the midnight heath (tape 6) as well as Clyms and Eustacias final dispute (tape 10). But the whole recording in itself is a highlight.
Just one technical afterthought: It would be sensible to edit it on CD. Tapes do not keep so well in the long run and I tremble that one day the tapes may give up.
Rating: 5
Summary: a classic that lives up to its rep
Comment: Eustacia Vye is a witchy woman- she has an aura about her that is all consuming for some. This was a dramatic novel, one I saved for years to read on cold, solitary nights with the wind blowing outside. It is a bleak tale of intermingled love stories. Eustacia isn't easy to love but she is far more determined and interesting than other characters in the classic lit canon. Clym is compelling in a different way. This is a novel, for me, of the human capacity to misunderstand and blame rather than try to communicate the heart's true desires. Very, very moving.
 |
Title:Mesmer ASIN: 6305835551 Publisher: Image Entertainment Pub. Date: 05 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $9.99 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $9.99 |
 |
Title:Close My Eyes ASIN: B0000AOV3W Publisher: Hens Tooth Video Pub. Date: 14 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $22.46 |
 |
Title: Alan Rickman by Maureen Paton ISBN: 0753507544 Publisher: Virgin Publishing Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title:Blow Dry ASIN: B00005K3OR Publisher: Miramax Home Entertainment Pub. Date: 14 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $9.99 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $9.99 |
 |
Title:Dark Harbor ASIN: 0784014213 Publisher: Artisan Entertainment Pub. Date: 21 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $13.48 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
