Amazing

There are insufficient superlatives to bestow on Holdbrook-Smith for his reading of this amazing book. He's done Dickens proud.

Dicken's third novel, published in, I believe, 1838, it is an incredibly detailed glimpse at people in the less visible stratas of society in London and surrounds. The detailing of place is breathtaking.

Suspense, intrigue, humor, romance - this book has it all. You want to listen to this.

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10 star performance

I generally like Dickens but Nicholas Nickleby seemed daunting to me with its volume and its plot fairly straightforward. Recently I found this as a podcast addition to Audible and it was preformed by one of my favorite voice actors Kobna Holbrook Smith. Just one part in, I was hooked. Smith does an excellent job of elevating the material by adeptly switching between innocent gaiety to tooth gnashing malice in an instant. His voices are endlessly surprising and rewarding as well find new nuances between the different characters. Masterfully done and worth listening to time and time again.
Now turning to the writer, what can a little review say about Dickens that hasn't been already said. He's at his eloquent and satirical best. The book is unbelievably funny, not just for its time but in general. Most impressive of all, Dickens was only 26 years old when he wrote this stunning work. All the typical contrivances of the Victorian novel are present and the plot isn't going to surprise you. But the characters are so nuanced and layered that you can see them grow and change with each passing chapter. Especially the antagonism between Nicholas and Ralph is wonderfully captured and built so well, it surprises you when you consider how trivial the initial offence that triggered the disagreement was. Inspiring novel, makes one want to be a novelist and write with passion about any simple story. For what's the point of stories if you can't reward your heroes and punish your villains!?
Highly recommended

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10 people found this helpful

great tale, great narration

very nicely done, the range of voices and inflections by Kovba was astonishing. This was a great story done justice with the reading.

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Loved it

Nicholas Nickleby is one of my favorite Dickens works but the narrator is what made this version so special. His voice is so pleasant to listen to and he did a great job with the dialog accents. Thank you Kobna Holdbrook-Smith!

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2 people found this helpful

Brilliant Portrayal by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

I cannot find any terms to adequately praise and describe Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's portrayal of this marvelous tale and its fantastical characters. I laughed out loud, felt heartbreak and anger, and stayed up too late a few times because of unbearable suspense! Mr. Holdbrook-Smith BECAME these people in this time and place, and he transported me with him. In an incredible display of variation and dialect, his voice carried all of Dickens' underlying messages through quiet poignancy, roaring bluster, and every emotional expression in between Don't miss this one.

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6 people found this helpful

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith makes Dickens come to life.

The narrator is the point. Absolutely love his work. He turns narration into a play. One man does all the characters. Perfectly.
I love Dickens....I adore Kobna.

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2 people found this helpful

Exceptional Voice Artist

Nothing more can be said of Dickens. I will say though that the narrator was phenomenal.

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2 people found this helpful

Oh, yes, a classic

As an old English major and actress, I'm amazed I managed to avoid reading Dickens. How did that happen? Now I'm glad of it. This rich narration by Kobna Holbrook-Smith couldn't have been a better way to be introduced to the brilliance of Mr. Dickens. Holbrook-Smith understands the wide variety of characters presented to us in this classic piece and hands them to us with generosity and humor...and compassion! He inhabits each one, letting us know each one much better than they know themselves. I laughed out loud when meeting the Crummles company of theatrical folk...these were my people for many years! I loved them and miss them. And Mrs. Nickleby was my mother and myself and other funny people I've known without insight but with enough sense to marry for love. I wish I could express more clearly the power contained in this kind of acting and this kind of writing to affect our lives. Getting to know the Cheeryble brothers as Dickens and Holbrook-Smith "knew" them tweaked the better side of my nature and actually helped me take some actions they might have chosen to take. Amazing. And those dastardly characters, the antagonists! Though they all cause pain, I think only one raises no compassion in me: Sir Mulberry Hawk. He stands as red flag of warning that some few people there are who cannot even be pitied.

Like some of Dickens' readers who reportedly waited on the docks for his next episodes, I am waiting for more of this brilliant duet of Dickens and Holbrook-Smith. Come on, Audible!

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6 people found this helpful

A Galaxy-of-Stars Performance

Charles Dickens himself would surely consider Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's interpretation of the cast of unique characters in this Dickens classic to be the absolute Gold Standard by which henceforth all others will be measured (sorry, Simon Vance). In this particular book, his youthful voice felt like an especially perfect fit for the narrative scenes as well.

In case you haven't read them, Mr. Holdbrook-Smith's narration of the Rivers of London series of novels is also totally killer bee, by the way. Entirely different genre but the man has a voice you can just never get enough of.

If he has any little kids in his family, I envy the pleasure they must get from his reading bedtime stories to them.

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4 people found this helpful

Outstanding book.

I've read most of Charles Dickens books and this ranks right up there with pretty much all of them. Phenomenal. But the reader was incredible. How he could so consistently change voices to so many characters, male and female, and represent them so well was nothing short of genius to me. A most enjoyable listen! Thanks!

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2 people found this helpful