Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Counter-Attack

By: Siegfried Sassoon
Narrated by: Phillip J. Mather
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $4.99

Buy for $4.99

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The narrator pledges to donate 50% of his proceeds to The Royal British Legion Poppy Day Appeal - please support. Siegfried Sassoon is one of the best-known of the plethora of First World War poets. His poem, "Counter-Attack", was published in 1918 in Counter-Attack and Other Poems and describes the horror of life in the trenches of the Western Front.

Public Domain (P)2014 Phillip J. Mather
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Counter-Attack

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

War Is Not Glorious But Ugly, Sordid Business

If you could sum up Counter-Attack in three words, what would they be?

War Is Hell.

Who was your favorite character and why?

War is really the only character here, and it is ugly, brutal, disfigured and disfiguring. It clenches your stomach and twists. It deforms and sucks people dry. It strips of humanity and morals. All that is left is dust and blood and fear.

Have you listened to any of Phillip J. Mather’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This poem portrays war in all its ugliness while some of the other poems read by Phillip J. Mather focused on glory, patriotism, and liberty and urged men to fight harder. In this poem the only urge is to stay alive. For that you must kill. There is no glory in it.

I found Mr. Mather's narration on some of his other poems to be slightly better than on this one. However, the deepness of his voice and the emotive way he narrates gave this poem an extra dimension beyond the written word.

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

The imagery in this poem is magnificent. It is also very sad. The descriptions in the first stanza are chilling, especially when the poet describes the rotting dead with their green, lifeless legs.

Any additional comments?

A great poem to get an honest view of what war is really like in the battlefield.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful