Fathers and Sons
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Narrated by:
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George Guidall
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By:
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Ivan Turgenev
About this listen
When Ivan Turgenev first published this novel in 1862, the populace of his native Russia was so enraged by the character of Bazarov that Turgenev was forced to flee the country for France. However, critics have praised the novel for its subtle irony and richly crafted characters.
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The latter half of the nineteenth century was a time of turmoil in Russian politics and society. As modernization and industrialization took place, the new generation challenged traditional society. Against this backdrop Turgenev presents a generational conflict through a cast of richly crafted characters and delicate prose. The narrator does not give his characters assertive voices, but portrays them thoughtfully, especially the extraordinary protagonist, Bazarov. Little is needed to convey the chilling intellect and compassionate heart of this complex character. This novel about life and relationships will evoke a thoughtful mood in the listener.
Critic reviews
"The deep purpose pervading Fathers and Sons is to show us life itself." (Henry James)
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In The Idiot, Prince Myshkin possesses a childlike innocence and trusting nature that leave him vulnerable to abuse by those around him. Returning to St. Petersburg to collect an inheritance, Myshkin realizes he is a stranger in a society obsessed with wealth, manipulation and power.
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Avoid Constance Garnett
- By Anthony on 04-09-17
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Anna of the Five Towns
- By: Arnold Bennett
- Narrated by: Peter Joyce
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in stifled, industrial Staffordshire in the late 19th century, against a strong evangelical background, Anna of the Five Towns tells of the courting of hard businessman Ephraim Tellright's daughter by prosperous and accomplished Henry Mynors. As her father's fortune grows, so does Anna understanding. She realises her legacy and responsibility for the possible ruination of her father's tenants, Titus Price and his son, Willie, who also loves her.
By: Arnold Bennett
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Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Honoré de Balzac uses his classic style of detail to describe a most controversial setting in his novel Le Pere Goriot. The story takes place in Paris just after the fall of Napoleon in 1819. The story focuses on three characters, Rastignac, a student who wants to try and make it big in the capital, Vautrin, an interesting and funny character who is also quite mysterious, and the main character, Goriot, that carries a heavy burden that only a loving parent would endure.
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A minor masterpiece
- By Jack Rock on 03-04-18
By: Honoré de Balzac
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Jude The Obscure
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the story of a young country workman obsessed by his ambition to become an Oxford student, interwoven with his fraught relationships with two women.
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Staggering
- By Tad Davis on 02-16-10
By: Thomas Hardy
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Buddenbrooks
- The Decline of a Family
- By: Thomas Mann
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 26 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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First published in 1900, when Thomas Mann was 25, Buddenbrooks is a minutely imagined chronicle of four generations of a North German mercantile family - a work so true to life that it scandalized the author’s former neighbours in his native Lübeck.
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Where Have You Been All My Life, Thomas Mann?
- By Virginia Waldron on 03-30-17
By: Thomas Mann
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The Custom of the Country
- By: Edith Wharton
- Narrated by: Grace Conlin
- Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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One of Edith Wharton's most acclaimed works, The Custom of the Country is a blistering indictment of materialism, power, and misplaced values. Its heroine, Undine Spragg, is one of the most ruthless characters in all of literature, as selfishly unscrupulous as she is fiercely beautiful. As she climbs the class ladder through a series of marriages and affairs, she shows little concern for who she has to step on.
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Narrator kills the book
- By Mississippi Malka on 05-24-10
By: Edith Wharton
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Ethan Frome
- By: Edith Wharton
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 3 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Ethan Frome, a poor, downtrodden New England farmer, is trapped in a loveless marriage to his invalid wife, Zeena.When Zeena's young cousin Mattie arrives to help care for her, Ethan is immediately taken by Mattie's warm, vivacious personality. They fall desperately in love as he realizes how much is missing from his life and marriage.
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Slow is smooth and smooth is Fast until it isn't
- By Darwin8u on 05-29-13
By: Edith Wharton
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Father Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
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Impoverished young aristocrat Eugene de Rastignac is determined to climb the social ladder and impress himself on Parisian high society. While staying at the Maison Vauquer, a boarding house in Paris's rue Neuve-Sainte-Genevieve, he encounters Jean-Joachim Goriot, a retired vermicelli maker who has spent his entire fortune supporting his two daughters. The boarders strike up a friendship and Goriot learns of Rastignac's feelings for his daughter Delphine. He begins to see Rastignac as the ideal son-in-law, and the perfect substitute for Delphine's domineering husband. But Rastignac has other opportunities too....
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Astounding performance
- By Laurence Grey on 04-05-21
By: Honoré de Balzac
What listeners say about Fathers and Sons
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Tobin
- 03-04-06
Russian Classic
Fathers and Sons has been hailed as a masterpiece of Russian literature, but I knew nothing about it before picking it up. I was certainly impressed.
The book centers around Yevgeny Bazarov, a young radical who embraces the idea of nihilism. Bazarov rejects the old conventions of the past (religion, aristocracism, liberalism, essentially all “-isms”) and believes that life is meaningless. During his travels with his friend, Arkady Kirsanov, he discusses and argues his beliefs with both parents and other characters. Despite his insistence that nothing in life has any meaning, Bazarov is a caring, loving man.
What happens in the plot is of little importance compared to the progression of Bazarov and his beliefs over the course of the novel. The novel’s ending comes suddenly, but is not surprising.
What is more crucial to the novel’s success is the way it captures the essence of people’s relationships and feelings through Turganev’s recounting of events. One always can tell where people stand in their opinions of each other simply by their basic actions.
I was fascinated that in Bazarov,I could see feelings about tzars and social class in general which was reminiscent of the impending Soviet Communist Revolution. I also saw overtones of modern existentialism in a 19th century novel.
George Guidall does a wonderful job, and is easy to follow. Like many Russian novels, however, Fathers and Sons can be somewhat wordy and complex. I am not sure if the English translations are to blame or if the style of Russian writing is simply not what Americans are used to. Nonetheless, Fathers and Sons is a classic and should not be missed.
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10 people found this helpful
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- J. Leiker
- 04-06-17
Loved this! And a perfect reading.
Excellent reading of an interesting Russian work. Gives us a good sense of the period.
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- Dale
- 12-05-13
From Jeff
If you could sum up Fathers and Sons in three words, what would they be?
Learned something new.
Any additional comments?
Keep a list of the character name summaries by your side. Russian names are definitely more difficult to keep track. It becomes easier as you go.
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- Matthew
- 02-06-18
Splendid
An absolute triumph, full of pathos and wisdom. Turgenev explores the aspirations, griefs, joys and vexations that attend the relationship of parents and children with tenderness and insight. The destiny of individual Russian persons and Russian families are staged against a background of questions surrounding the destiny of Russia itself, giving the novel both psychological penetration and epic significance. Guidall's narration is impecable.
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- Scott
- 05-01-12
The Clash Between Liberals and Nihilists
Would you listen to Fathers and Sons again? Why?
Probably. It was a good listen and an important novel but I would probably wait at least ten years to revisit it.
What other book might you compare Fathers and Sons to and why?
I think it could be comparable to works his contemporaries.
What about George Guidall’s performance did you like?
I'm not sure. He did a good job overall but I'm not sure what I would say about the performance that I liked best.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No, not really.
Any additional comments?
I had always heard the name Ivan Turgenev as being mentioned amongst the top Russian novelists of the 19th century but I never got around to reading or listening to any of his works till now. ‘Fathers and Sons’ is generally considered his best novel and having George Guidall narrate only makes the experience that much better. Believing that this would be a complex novel I was happily surprised to find out how clearly Turgenev was able to show the divide between the new and old order of Russia.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Carl
- 01-04-10
A beautifully crafted novel
The plot revolves like a mobile around balances of characters, events, settings, and relationships. No matter how many times you go back to this book you always discover some new balance point, or counterpoint.
Turgenev's masterpiece is particularly good for audio since it develops through scenes of dialogue between characters, like the good dramatist he was, and often lyrical descriptions of the setting.
Guidall's narration is admirable. He captures the characters' attitudes and the narrator's tones without overacting, or oversimplifying for the reader. This is the best audio version of the book I've found.
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2 people found this helpful