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The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P'ing Mei (Volume One: The Gathering)
- Narrated by: George Backman
- Length: 17 hrs and 35 mins
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Publisher's summary
In this first of a planned five-volume set, David Roy provides a complete and annotated translation of the famous Chin P'ing Mei, an anonymous sixteenth-century Chinese novel that focuses on the domestic life of Hsi-men Ch'ing, a corrupt, upwardly mobile merchant in a provincial town, who maintains a harem of six wives and concubines. This work, known primarily for its erotic realism, is also a landmark in the development of the narrative art form - not only from a specifically Chinese perspective but in a world-historical context.
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As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, Halloween approaches. Come, brave listener, pull up a chair, and spend some time with master storyteller Stephen Fry as he tells us some of his favourite ghost stories of all time, in truly terrifying spatial audio. From the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow to the tortured spirits of M.R. James, from Edgar Allan Poe’s terrifying tale of a doppelganger to Charlotte Riddell’s Open Door that should definitely stay shut, join Stephen as he tells you some truly terrifying tales.
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Wonderful narration. Mediocre stories.
- By Michael Fuchs on 11-07-23
By: Stephen Fry, and others
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Dracula [Audible Edition]
- By: Bram Stoker
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- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
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The modern audience hasn't had a chance to truly appreciate the unknowing dread that readers would have felt when reading Bram Stoker's original 1897 manuscript. Most modern productions employ campiness or sound effects to try to bring back that gothic tension, but we've tried something different. By returning to Stoker's original storytelling structure - a series of letters and journal entries voiced by Jonathan Harker, Dr. Van Helsing, and other characters - with an all-star cast of narrators, we've sought to recapture its originally intended horror and power.
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IS THAT NOT SO?
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By: Bram Stoker
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Brain Damage
- By: Freida McFadden
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As Charly struggles to recover from her brain injury, she begins to realize that the events of that fateful night are trapped in the damaged right side of her brain. Now, she must put the jigsaw pieces together to discover the identity of the man who tried to kill her...before he finishes the job he started.
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Who Else Laughed, Cried, and Shuddered?
- By Jennifer Chichester on 09-16-22
By: Freida McFadden
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Frankenstein
- By: Mary Shelley
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Narrator Dan Stevens ( Downton Abbey) presents an uncanny performance of Mary Shelley's timeless gothic novel, an epic battle between man and monster at its greatest literary pitch. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris, and horror.
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ARE WE ALWAYS TO BE UNHAPPY?
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 01-28-16
By: Mary Shelley
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The Strange Case
- By: Derek Kolstad, Mitali Jahagirdar, Laurie Kirwan-Ashman, and others
- Narrated by: Vanessa Kirby, David Oyelowo, Sofie Gråbøl, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins
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Dr. Jekyll (Vanessa Kirby) is an elite international specialist in energy systems, working closely with her handler Louis (David Oyelowo) in a career that takes her across the globe to politically volatile territories such as Iran and North Korea. But when an arms dealer accuses her of having killed his family, Dr. Jekyll begins to question details of her life, who Louis really is, and whether her strange recurring dream has a greater meaning. She enlists the help of psychologist Sigrun (Sofie Gråbøl), and together they delve into Dr. Jekyll’s darker other side, a brutal assassin named… Hyde.
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Love the Originals !!
- By r2coder on 08-04-24
By: Derek Kolstad, and others
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The Cut
- By: Richard Armitage
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage, Jacob Dudman
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
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Welcome to Barton Mallet, a remote village in the Midlands that has been chosen as the unlikely location for a new feature film from Hollywood producer Max Crow. Teenagers from the local drama group are encouraged to audition for a story about the trials and tribulations of growing up. Benjamin Knot, the CEO of a well-known architecture firm, discovers that his children, Lily and Nathan, have each been offered a role. But Barton Mallet has a deep wound that has never truly healed.
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Hard to get into
- By felicialeash on 09-15-24
By: Richard Armitage
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What listeners say about The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P'ing Mei (Volume One: The Gathering)
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- locutor2
- 04-19-22
Pearl Buck Meets Philip Roth
Incredibly sophisticated in narrative form. Engaging well beyond the licentious bits (and there are many)
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- bpjammin
- 09-30-19
A calssic translation and narration!
This is the first volume of David Tod Roy’s excellent translation of Chin P'ing Mei, one of the six great classics of Chinese Literature. It’s right up there with David Hawkes’ masterful translation of “Dream of the Red Chamber.” George Backman’s nuanced narration and excellent Chinese pronunciation really brings the book to life.
The book opens with a retelling of the story of Wu Song, a character from the Classic “Outlaws of the Marsh.” Wu Song’s story eventually blends into the story of Ximen Qing, a debauched, wealthy pharmaceutical merchant who has more money, women, wine & song than he knows what to do with.
This book can be sexually explicit at times, unlike the more demure classic, “Dream of the Red Chamber.” It also is far from the political sensibilities of “Outlaws” and “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” which tend to point out corruption and attempt to remedy it. It is however, much more like “Journey to the West” in that it’s one madcap adventure after another for the entire volume. Ximen Qing is definitely Sun Wukong but with none of the Monkey King’s redeeming qualities.
Like Red Chamber, it provides a window into everyday Chinese culture. Though set in earlier times, both books portray the lives of social elites and the common people of China at the end of the Ming and beginning of the Qing Dynasties. The extreme wealth and privilege of the wealthy elites at that time certainly have parallels in today’s western culture. (Jeffrey Epstein comes to mind.)
This is my second time listening to this volume and it just seems even better to me than my first listen. I sure hope Audible decides to record the remaining three volumes and that George Backman is the narrator of those volumes as well.
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- Villa_Straylight
- 10-16-20
Classic story, fun performance
This is a great translation. The reader also does a great job making the story lively and has excellent Chinese pronunciation. I hope they release the rest of this series.
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- Caroline
- 11-21-14
Excellent narration and rollicking story
George Backman is a terrific narrator for this. He can handle the Chinese names effortlessly and he catches the spirit of the soap opera characters, bed scenes, insults and general conniving.
Yes, it is in one sense a seemingly endless portrayal of a superficial, wealthy, randy young Chinese businessman and his wives/concubines, drinking parties, etc in 1100s China. But it is also a discerning portrayal of human psychology and a picture of Chinese life across most classes during the 1600s, when it was actually written. If you think of it as like a multi-year television program, well written and weaving together the threads of several plot lines while beguling you with descriptions of suculent feasts and beautiful clothes, you’ll get into the spirit of the thing and commit to multiple volumes. Again, Backman is flawless and makes the book.
Do note that it is frankly written in occasional bed scenes, so you wouldn’t want to listen in a car with children.
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8 people found this helpful
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- JK
- 05-19-24
ENJOYABLE
Just finished this book, and it goes on and on, but somehow I got “ hooked” on it.
It is not the usual genre book I am interested in, but I wanted to read a book, written n China, so long ago.
It definitely is not a book to read while driving, when you have children in the car, or other family members,
too many detailed sex scenes, but it was interesting to read about situations going on so many years ago and again nothing has changed in the year 2024. This book was written in sixteenth century China.
The author and the translator are both excellent.
The narrator, mr. George Backman, does an excellent job and is a pleasure to listen to for such a long book.
Since I have book two of the series I will continue. It is a relaxing, brainless book to listen to on my long, daily walks.
My thanks to all involved, JK.
It is now 5/23/2024.
I did start the second book of the series, but did not get very far.
It is more of the same from the start. It might be different further into the book, but I let that sit on my “ bookshelf “ for a later date,
This is no criticism of the author, nor the narrator, JK
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