
Life and Fate: The Complete Series (Dramatised)
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By:
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Vasily Grossman
About this listen
Kenneth Branagh stars in BBC Radio 4's ambitious eight-hour dramatisation of Life and Fate, Vasily Grossman's epic masterpiece set during the Battle of Stalingrad. This powerful work, completed in 1960, charts the fate of both a nation and a family in the turmoil of war. Its comparison of Stalinism with Nazism was considered by Soviet authorities to be so dangerous that the KGB placed the manuscript under arrest and Grossman was informed his book would not be published for at least 200 years.
Having been a household name as one of Russia's most distinguished war correspondents, Grossman died aged 58 - the banning of his book hastening the end of his life - and he would never know the fate of his masterpiece: smuggled out of the Soviet Union on microfilm, to freedom and eventual publication in the West. Today it is increasingly hailed as the most important Russian novel of the 20th century.
©2011 AudioGO Ltd (P)2011 AudioGO LtdListeners also enjoyed...
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In the First Circle
- By: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Harry T. Willets - translator
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 31 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Moscow, Christmas Eve, 1949. The Soviet secret police intercept a call made to the American embassy by a Russian diplomat who promises to deliver secrets about the nascent Soviet Atomic Bomb program. On that same day, a brilliant mathematician is locked away inside a Moscow prison that houses the country's brightest minds. He and his fellow prisoners are charged with using their abilities to sleuth out the caller's identity, and they must choose whether to aid Joseph Stalin's repressive state - or refuse and accept transfer to the Siberian Gulag camps, and almost certain death.
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One of the five finest novels written in the 20th Century
- By Ellis D Vener on 04-08-19
By: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and others
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Doctor Faustus
- By: Thomas Mann
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 26 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Thomas Mann's last great novel, first published in 1947 and now newly rendered into English by acclaimed translator John E. Woods, is a modern reworking of the Faust legend, in which Germany sells its soul to the Devil. Mann's protagonist, the composer Adrian Leverkühn, is the flower of German culture, a brilliant, isolated, overreaching figure, his radical new music a breakneck game played by art at the very edge of impossibility. In return for twenty-four years of unparalleled musical accomplishment, he bargains away his soul—and the ability to love his fellow man.
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Literary self flagellation
- By Lipton101 on 02-13-25
By: Thomas Mann
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The Weimar Years
- Rise and Fall 1918–1933
- By: Frank McDonough
- Narrated by: Paul McGann
- Length: 19 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Established in 1918–19, in the wake of Germany’s catastrophic defeat in the First World War and the revolution that followed swiftly on its heels, the Weimar Republic ushered in widespread social reform, a radical cultural flowering and the most democratic conditions the German people had ever known. The Weimar Years is a vivid narrative of a dramatic period in German history. Year by year, from 1918 to 1933, Frank McDonough covers the major events in both domestic and foreign policy and the personalities who shaped them, together with developments in music, art, theatre and literature.
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I learned a ton
- By Phyllis on 12-30-24
By: Frank McDonough
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The Leopard
- A Novel
- By: Giuseppe di Lampedusa, Archibald Colquhuon - translator
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in the 1860s, The Leopard tells the spellbinding story of a decadent, dying Sicilian aristocracy threatened by the approaching forces of democracy and revolution. The dramatic sweep and richness of observation, the seamless intertwining of public and private worlds, and the grasp of human frailty imbue The Leopard with its particular melancholy beauty and power, and place it among the greatest historical novels of our time.
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Timeless
- By Robert Massarella on 12-05-23
By: Giuseppe di Lampedusa, and others
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Doctor Who: 10th Doctor Tales
- 10th Doctor Audio Originals
- By: Peter Anghelides, Dan Abnett, David Roden, and others
- Narrated by: Catherine Tate, David Tennant, Michelle Ryan
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Original Recording
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David Tennant, Catherine Tate and Michelle Ryan are the narrators of this exclusive collection of original audio adventures. Join the 10th Doctor on journeys in time and space in these stories: 'Pest Control', 'The Forever Trap', 'The Nemonite Invasion', 'The Rising Night', 'The Day of the Troll', 'The Last Voyage' and 'Dead Air'. Written by Peter Anghelides, Dan Abnett, David Roden, Scott Handcock, Simon Messingham and James Goss.
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Incredible and Engaging Stories and Voice Talent
- By Seanster on 01-20-17
By: Peter Anghelides, and others
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A Month in the Country
- By: J. L. Carr, Michael Holroyd - introduction
- Narrated by: Christopher Tester
- Length: 3 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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In J. L. Carr's deeply charged poetic novel, Tom Birkin, a veteran of the Great War and a broken marriage, arrives in the remote Yorkshire village of Oxgodby where he is to restore a recently discovered medieval mural in the local church. Living in the bell tower, surrounded by the resplendent countryside of high summer, and laboring each day to uncover an anonymous painter's depiction of the apocalypse, Birkin finds that he himself has been restored to a new, and hopeful, attachment to life.
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Gorgeous, sad, and deeply funny
- By Tim on 01-19-25
By: J. L. Carr, and others
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Doctor Zhivago
- By: Boris Pasternak, Larissa Volokhonsky - translator, Richard Pevear - translator
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 23 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In celebration of the 40th anniversary of its original publication, here is a new translation of the classic story of the life and loves of a poet/physician during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. Taking his family from Moscow to what he hopes will be shelter in the Ural Mountains, Zhivago finds himself instead embroiled in the battle between the Whites and the Reds. Set against this backdrop of cruelty and strife is Zhivago’s love for the tender and beautiful Lara.
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Russian Philosophical Feast
- By Syd Young on 02-16-13
By: Boris Pasternak, and others
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War and Peace
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 61 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit. Tolstoy's genius is clearly seen in the multitude of characters in this massive chronicle, all of them fully realized and equally memorable.
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Glad I finally decided to read it
- By Plumeria on 09-25-05
By: Leo Tolstoy
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Fathers and Sons
- By: Ivan Turgenev
- Narrated by: David Horovitch
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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When Arkady Petrovich comes home from college, his father finds his eager, naive son changed almost beyond recognition, for the impressionable Arkady has fallen under the powerful influence of the friend he has brought with him. A self-proclaimed nihilist, the ardent young Bazarov shocks Arkady's father by criticising the landowning way of life and by his outspoken determination to sweep away the traditional values of contemporary Russian society.
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The greatest novel I'll ever read
- By Dan Harlow on 07-07-13
By: Ivan Turgenev
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The World of Yesterday
- Memoirs of a European
- By: Stefan Zweig, Anthea Bell - translator
- Narrated by: David Horovitch
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Stefan Zweig's memoir, The World of Yesterday, recalls the golden age of prewar Europe - its seeming permanence, its promise and its devastating fall with the onset of two world wars. Zweig's passionate, evocative prose paints a stunning portrait of an era that danced brilliantly on the brink of extinction. It is an unusually humane account of Europe from the closing years of the 19th century through to World War II, seen through the eyes of one of the most famous writers of his era.
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Lucidity whilst Civilization reverts to barbarism
- By none on 06-25-17
By: Stefan Zweig, and others
What listeners say about Life and Fate: The Complete Series (Dramatised)
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- MegaPrecious
- 11-22-22
Very well performed!
One of the most important literature of 20th century, also my favorite title of this month. Recommend to all who've read the book.
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- philippe jacob
- 09-25-23
Great
Philosophical reflections on an extermination war that was directed against ethnical groups Slavic and Jewish, a reflection on humanity and propaganda.
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- Andre
- 11-24-23
A 20th Century War and Peace
Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate is a phenomenal book on par with Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Sweeping, epic, gripping, it is not only one of the greatest Russian novels of the 20th century, but one of the greatest novels the world has produced in the last century, The realism of the dialogue and sound effects in this sumptuous BBC radio production astounded me. I’m glad activists smuggled this manuscript out of Russia in microfilm so that the world could finally read what the Russians tried so hard to suppress.
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- Timothy Blevins
- 12-13-21
Soviets gonna Soviet
Great story. Too much volume variation. English accent for Russians is just a little off.
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- Fiona Windle
- 01-20-20
Absolutely Brilliant!
I thought that this would be dry and was pleasantly suprised! The subject matter is so true to life that sometimes it is almost difficult to listen to. That said, I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone! Maybe if we all heard this story then the world would be a beter place.
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- Robert
- 07-28-24
Poor sound quality
The volume was not well modulated. Had to adjust the volume all the time to account for loud voices or noises. Also there were sound effects that didn’t really work and detracted from what the people were saying. Street noises or room noises, etc. the sound problems took away greatly from quality.
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- Eleanor Corner
- 08-27-13
Painfully well done
I had a bit of a struggle following the thread of the story between the characters, however the narration skills of these amazing actors overcame this difficulty for the most part. As indicated in other reviews, the story is unrelentingly grim, realistic, and painful to listen to because of its adherence to accurate portrayal of individual experiences in World War II.
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23 people found this helpful
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- A. M.
- 02-12-22
To know the times...
To know the times of WWII you must read Vasily Grossman to understand the East and William Shirer to understand the West. Both were superb journalistic representatives of their time in history in the same way Thucydides was to his.
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- Trace
- 10-10-22
A labour of love
Thanks to everyone who made this wonderful and moving production that is really a labour of love
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- Susan Gershman
- 05-31-12
captivating
Where does Life and Fate: The Complete Series (Dramatised) rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
The similarity between Stalin's communism and Hitler's fascism is striking, although in the end they both deprive ordinary citizens of freedom and make them paranoid. The horrors of war to all sides is apparent here; and the fear of the people and bravery of the soldiers and arrogance of their leaders also shows itself in todays society and politics. As a Jew myself, I was tearful at times on both sides of the War, the cattle car, the "showers",(the Jew who only closes the door) the fear that neighbors would turn you in. The sound effects were so real. I felt I was there in the mud and stink of war.I don't know how the actors manage to create their characters in a room in front of a microphone with such conviction. They were amazing! The pain and disbelief in Krymov's voice as he was tortured without knowing why he was betrayed after being loyal to the Party all his life. Viktor's mother's sadness as she read the letter to him, so far away,before she died , etc. I felt it. I jumped when I heard the bombs; it so happened a plane flew overhead when I was listening to the recording. It made it more real. I recommend this book to someone who is familiar with Russian novels. There are always so many characters with long similar names. Sometimes difficult to keep track of when you're reading them, let alone listening. You might have to backtrack a few times to familiarize yourself with the voices, but it's definitely worth it.
What other book might you compare Life and Fate: The Complete Series (Dramatised) to and why?
I haven't heard any other dramatized books like this. Only Shakespearean Comedies. No comparison.I've read many books about the Concentration camps and Stalin in Russia, but never put together such as this book has been.
Which character – as performed by Kenneth Branagh and David Tennant – was your favorite?
Krymov---David Tennant. I wish he had a Tardis to take him and the other actors out of there. His betrayal by his wife and Party was so devastating. His entire life was destroyed by lies.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
The extremes of the political scale will lead to the same result. Persecution. Denial of Rights. War. Hate. Distrust Communism and Fascism supposed opposites, both granted power and wealth to the leaders. Stalin and Hitler. The same. Millions imprisoned and dead. Soldiers are fed hate and false ideals. They fight, die and kill for them. Citizens are stuck in the middle; Though they are also fed the diet of hate and fear of the "enemy" they're homeless, starving, being rounded up,raped, beaten and tortured, dying. The same on both side of the struggle. Suffering the same fate. The circle never ends even today. How many wars are there at this moment in the world?
Any additional comments?
I think this would be a great movie, with the same actors and I hope it's in the works. I will read the book on Kindle next. I know there is a lot more to this story.
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12 people found this helpful