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Henderson the Rain King
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
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Publisher's summary
Saul Bellow evokes all the rich colors and exotic customs of a highly imaginary Africa in this acclaimed comic novel about a middle-aged American millionaire who, seeking a new, more rewarding life, descends upon an African tribe. Henderson's awesome feats of strength and his unbridled passion for life win him the admiration of the tribe - but it is his gift for making rain that turns him from mere hero into messiah. A hilarious, often ribald story, Henderson the Rain King is also a profound look at the forces that drive a man through life.
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Miss Lonelyhearts is an unnamed male newspaper columnist writing an advice column, which is viewed by the newspaper as a joke. As "Miss Lonelyhearts" reads letters from desperate New Yorkers, he feels terribly burdened and falls into a cycle of deep depression, accompanied by heavy drinking and occasional barfights. The novel is essentially a black comedy and is characterized by an extremely dark but clever sense of humor and irony.
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Charged with Meaning, and Far Leftist Leaning
- By W Perry Hall on 01-27-16
By: Nathanael West
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Zorba the Greek
- By: Nikos Kazantzakis
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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A wonderful tale of a young man’s coming of age, Zorba the Greek has been a classic of world literature since it was first translated into English in 1952 and made into an unforgettable movie with Anthony Quinn. Zorba, an irrepressible, earthy hedonist, sweeps his young disciple along as he wines, dines, and loves his way through a life dedicated to fulfilling his copious appetites. Zorba is irresistible in this charming audio production by veteran narrator George Guidall.
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Drink life to the lees
- By Scot Potts on 04-25-13
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White Dog Fell from the Sky
- By: Eleanor Morse
- Narrated by: Carla Mercer-Meyer
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Botswana, 1976: Isaac Muthethe thinks he is dead. Smuggled across the border from South Africa in a hearse, he awakens covered in dust, staring at blue sky and the face of White Dog. Far from dead, he is, for the first time, in a country without apartheid. A medical student in South Africa, he was forced to flee after witnessing a friend murdered by white members of the South African Defense Force.
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Unexpectedly Stunning Work!
- By Kathi on 03-15-13
By: Eleanor Morse
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The Monstrumologist
- By: Rick Yancey
- Narrated by: Steven Boyer
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Dr. Warthrop is a scientist who tracks and studies real-life monsters. Assisted by his 12-year-old apprentice, Will Henry, Dr. Warthrop discovers a pod of Anthropophagi and launches a hunt to destroy the foul beasts.
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Reader Be Warned
- By Eddie on 01-25-15
By: Rick Yancey
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The Mark of the Beast
- By: Rudyard Kipling
- Narrated by: B.J. Harrison
- Length: 33 mins
- Unabridged
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When a carousing Englishman disgraces the consecrated effigy of Hanuman, a leprous "Silver Man" marks him with a hideous curse. The ensuing night brings new terrors to the house of the doomed man.
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Must listen again
- By uffdasuzanne on 10-06-17
By: Rudyard Kipling
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The Book of Kells
- By: R. A. MacAvoy
- Narrated by: Alan Robertson
- Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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A contemporary man, John Thornburn (a meek, non-violent and unpredictable artist) and woman, Derval (his tough, confrontational, strong and warrior-like lover) time travel to ancient Ireland to avenge a Viking attack. Packed with fascinating details of historical time and place in Irish history and delicately balanced on the border between realism and fantasy, the story centers around one of the most famous and beautiful illuminated manuscripts in history, the legendary but entirely real Book of Kells.
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The Book of Irish Fantasy
- By S. Wells on 12-10-12
By: R. A. MacAvoy
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The Moor's Last Sigh
- By: Salman Rushdie
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 20 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie combines a ferociously witty family saga with a surreally imagined and sometimes blasphemous chronicle of modern India and flavors the mixture with peppery soliloquies on art, ethnicity, religious fanaticism, and the terrifying power of love. Moraes "Moor" Zogoiby, the last surviving scion of a dynasty of Cochinese spice merchants and crime lords, is also a compulsive storyteller and an exile.
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The performance is enchanting.
- By Kelly on 05-04-18
By: Salman Rushdie
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Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories
- By: Kelly Link - editor, Gavin J. Grant - editor
- Narrated by: Sarah Coomes, Nico Evers-Swindell, Shannon McManus, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Imagine an alternate universe where romance and technology reign. Where tinkerers and dreamers craft and recraft a world of automatons, ornate clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that. Where scientists and schoolgirls, fair folk and Romans, intergalactic bandits, and intrepid orphans - decked out in corsets, clockwerk suits, and tall black boots - solve dastardly crimes, escape from monstrous predicaments, consult oracles, and hover over volcanoes in steam-powered airships.
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MMMM, Orca Bacon
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 09-14-13
By: Kelly Link - editor, and others
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Going to Meet the Man
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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"There's no way not to suffer. But you try all kinds of ways to keep from drowning in it." The men and women in these eight short fictions grasp this truth on an elemental level, and their stories, as told by James Baldwin, detail the ingenious and often desperate ways in which they try to keep their heads above water.
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Punch in the gut
- By Rebecca on 05-08-17
By: James Baldwin
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It's July 1921, "flickers" are all the rage, and Irene Van Beck has just declared her own independence by jumping off a moving train to escape her fate in a traveling burlesque show. When her friends, fellow dancer Millie Martin and comedian Henry Weiss, leap after her, the trio finds their way to the bright lights of Hollywood with hopes of making it big in the burgeoning silent film industry. But despite the glamour and seduction of Tinseltown, success doesn't come easy, and nothing can prepare Irene, Millie, and Henry for the poverty, temptation, and heartbreak that lie ahead.
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Great read for religious scholars
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Did not connect with the characters
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Cairo, 2011. After decades under a repressive regime, tensions are rising in the city streets. No one is out of reach of the revolution. There is General Alwany, a high-ranking member of the government's security agency, a pious man who loves his family yet won't hesitate to torture enemies of the state; Asma, a young teacher who chafes against the brazen corruption at her school; Ashraf, an out-of-work actor who is having an affair with his maid and gets pulled into Tahrir Square through a chance encounter; Nourhan, a television personality who defends those in power; and many more.
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Narrator wrecks storyline
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Cowboy Graves is an unexpected treasure from the vault of a revolutionary talent. Roberto Bolaño's boundless imagination and seemingly inexhaustible gift for shaping the chaos of his reality into fiction is unmistakable in these three novellas. In Cowboy Graves, Arturo Belano - Bolaño's alter ego - returns to Chile after the coup to fight with his comrades for socialism.
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Bolano is awesome! Great work
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Winner of the National Book Award when it was first published in 1964, Herzog traces five days in the life of a failed academic whose wife has recently left him for his best friend. Through the device of letter writing, Herzog movingly portrays both the internal life of its eponymous hero and the complexity of modern consciousness.
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Grows Within You
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On a scorching day in August 1954, 13-year-old Jubie Watts leaves Charlotte, North Carolina, with her family for a Florida vacation. Crammed into the Packard along with Jubie are her three siblings, her mother, and the family’s black maid, Mary Luther. For as long as Jubie can remember, Mary has been there - cooking, cleaning, compensating for her father’s rages and her mother’s benign neglect, and loving Jubie unconditionally.
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Solid southern literature.
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What listeners say about Henderson the Rain King
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- S. D. Salvador
- 03-29-24
Enjoyed it
Nice to revisit this author—last read Mr. Sammlers planet in college 30 year ago. Comes across a little outdated, but is accessible and thought-provoking. Bellow wears his feelings his sleeve. Sometimes it’s endearing, sometimes it’s really annoying.
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- Tara L. Rowley
- 01-17-21
Fascinating and enlightening
I was put off at first by the ugliness of the main character but the originality of the narrative held me. This book is a delight and a bit of a study on human nature and the urge to achieve enlightenment and fulfillment. The descriptions are vivid. I highly recommend.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Amazon reader
- 09-29-21
Bellow's Fictional Africa
I had a copy of this paperback novel since I was a child, and for some reason, I carried it with me from apartment to house to house for nearly six decades. Why? I have no idea, but now in my old age, I decided to tackle it, by listening to the audible and following along in my torn, yellowed paperback version, and it's quite a book. Lots of things wrong with it, of course. Bellow creates his own version of Africa, complete with pigmies and stereotype Africans and ---yes, I read reviews, and I know this 1959 novel is reviled for its portrayals of Tarzan-movie like dark continent 'types.'. But, there's something quite mesmerizing about this tale. Bellow invented nearly everything in it, including a wonderful lion. So a white millionaire goes to Africa and undergoes a change, influenced by an African King who encompasses all these values Henderson doesn't have: A sense of self-worth, a love for nature, and a down-to-earth understanding of humanity. This is a coming of age novel, except Henderson is not 13. He's 56. He grows up and comes back to America, a changed man. I loved the performance and really enjoyed the lessons he learns. This is my first introduction to Bellow and it made me want, want, want more. (That's a word Henderson uses quite often.)
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1 person found this helpful
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- Frank Bubba Henson
- 03-27-23
Excellent resonant story-telling brought to life by a wonderful narrative performance
No spoilers here. Three things to know about Henderson the Rain King:
1) The narration is spot-on – first-rate, makes the book sing. As an Audible snob, one who won’t buy a selection because of the narration, or will quit one, I warrant that this is an award-winning narration that confirms that Barrett or his director very clearly understood Henderson’s character. Barrett’s gravelly voice, pacing, glib deliveries, and roller-coaster changes in emotionality and tone perfectly reflect the qualities that make Henderson who he is. The narration propels the novel. I’ve seen other reviewers who didn’t like the narration. For me, Joe Barrett makes the book.
2) If you’re new to Bellow, this is a great place to start. Excellent descriptive writing, well-fleshed-out characters, meaningful themes, and superior plotting that stands up to review and continues to reveal the author’s mastery after you’re done. Comic, existential, and poetic, all at once. A whole universe within. Plus, it’s just a great story well told.
3) Lastly, this is a novel that deserves study, and contemplation – there is so much here. I purchased a companion hard copy to go along with my listening. If you’re motivated to do that, I recommend getting the Penguin Classics paperback edition with the introduction by Adam Kirsch (published 2012, ISBN 978-0-14-310548-0), but I highly suggest that you refrain from reading Kirsch’s excellent intro before finishing the book, and not because the intro has spoilers. Kirsch’s intro is outstanding and illuminating, and it reveals depth, perspective, and context that is more satisfying to discover after you’ve experienced the story.
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- Peter Ryers
- 11-19-20
Wonders
If you have read Bellows you will love Joe Barrett’s reading. It is outstanding. An American classic
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2 people found this helpful
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- orbiter7
- 03-18-22
Do not miss this remarkable performance
Listen for yourself. Some have heard racism in Bellow's words. I think they just don't get it.
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- dian
- 05-14-20
modern classic
This is my personal favorite Saul Bellow book. And on audio, it's even better yet. The narrator's gravelly old-style voice matches the story perfectly. I was mesmerized immediately by the narration & so caught up in the storytelling, that I listened for hours before forcing myself to quit to get some sleep. It's that good! Highly recommend this on Audible.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Robert H.
- 12-02-21
headline for my review
the performance seemed a little hurried on occasion other than that it was great just like I remembered as a child
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- Jeffrey
- 03-26-24
never thought of bellow writing a book like this
aside from the expressions used by/ " The voice" of the main character, the book is modern, and this surprised me.
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- David P. Wingert
- 10-26-23
Good…not great
I wanted to like this book more. Bellow is a fine writer. The concept of “finding oneself” that permeates the book seemed a bit self-indulgent.
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