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Kwaidan

By: Lafcadio Hearn
Narrated by: Walter Covell
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Publisher's summary

Kwaidan is a collection of weird, ghostly legends and beliefs of old Japan. Hearn spent 14 years in Japan, translating into English with superb effect the atmosphere of the tales which he avidly collected.

Based on Japanese literature and foldlore, Kwaidan contains 17 stories. The story of Loichi, the blind biwa player who was called to perform for the dead; of Muso, the journeying priest who encountered a man eating goblin; of the samurai who outwitted the ghost of a dead man. All these plus 14 other spooly tales are included in this collection.

©2011 Lafcadio Hearn (P)1986 Jimcin Recordings
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Editorial reviews

Narrator Walter Covell cultivates an atmosphere of mystery and antiquity in his rendition of Kwaidan. Kwaidan is a collection of ancient Japanese legends. Hearing the tales of warriors, ghosts, demons, and other beings out loud allows an immediacy and intimacy that is not possible when simply reading to one's self. Walter Covell invites us into the world of narrative storytelling, and listeners will find themselves easily transported through time, delighted by the startling images and weird mythology of these wonderful tales.

What listeners say about Kwaidan

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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Old Yokai Stories

If you have any interest in Japanese folklore, you will really enjoy this audiobook. The narration is a bit difficult to understand sometimes, but the stories themselves are well worth putting up with that.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful stories of old Japan.

For those curious about or interested in old Japan, these stories are wonderful. They are well read. And listening to these stories on audible are a real help for those who have low vision. Thank you so much.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Good stories but an old recording

if you're into folk lore this book has a lot of stories from japan. I have another book with 4 stories in it and this one has most of those and like 12 more so this is the way to go as far as Japanese tales go. I'm still looking for a good one that has the mythological beasts tales like Kappa and such this one is all ghosts stories. The only issue I had was this was an obviously old recording but once I got used to the quality I didn't mind as much as it begins to add a bit to the general feel of campfire tales in my opinion.

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5 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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wow, the narration on this is so hard to deal with

The narrator of this book has clearly never read any Japanese words before. you almost feel sorry for him. wonderful stories, and worth the cringing narration...

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3 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Recording quality is bad

What would have made Kwaidan better?

Story is interesting.

Any additional comments?

Description says this audiobook is UNABRIDGED version, but lacks some chapters. Recording quality is horrible.

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5 people found this helpful