Best translation on audible – mediocre narrator

As far as I can tell, every other unabridged English translation on audible is the inferior one by Constance Garnett. Now, I don't have the same anti-Garnett bias that others do, and I can admit that her translations of Chekhov and Tolstoy are quite good, but Dostoevsky is too chatty for Garnett's British formality.

That's why this audio book release is worth celebrating! Oliver Ready's translation is appropriately tough and unpretentious, while still maintaining the intellectual vigor of the novel. Thus, I'd say if you're looking for a Crime and Punishment audiobook, go with this one.

Unfortunately, Don Warrington's narration is hit-or-miss, though he gets better as the book goes along. My guess is that Mr. Warrington is a talented actor who is new to audio-book narration, as his voice conveys tone and is suitably emotional, but he doesn't have enough vocal variety to distinguish from the characters and his tone is too flat for such a gritty work as Crime and Punishment. Overall, it's a shame that Penguin didn't go with a better narrator, but this is still worth listening to if you'd like to read such an important novel in a good translation.

9 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

A masterpiece performed by a marvelous reader

The first few words uttered by Mr. Warrington immediately transported me to the vibe and scene of the story. Don Warrington is a great voice talent, capable of effortlessly carving out distinct figures with all their characters and personalities.

I used to assume Crime and Punishment is great but dull or inaccessible. Mr. Warrington’s rendition now proves how wrong I have been.

Brothers Karamazov is my next book to explore. Unfortunately, I haven’t come across a version featuring Don Warrington.

4 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Voice gets irritating after a while

The story is great but the voice of Don Warrington did not agree with me. After a while, it became too irritating, particularly when he read lines by female characters.

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Hard to listen to.

Although this is probably the more accessible translation of this title on audible, it's still very difficult to listen to. not only is the Narration not very good, The book is filled with long winded dialogue between multiple characters, sometimes 4+ characters at once and it is really difficult to distinguish them from each other, so unless your listening very closely or are familiar with the text, you will most surely lose the thread of what is going on eventually, this makes this book very frustrating to listen to.
I would not reccomend wasting a credit on this book no matter the translation or Narration. Instead get a cheap used copy of the book and read it, that way you can take your time and unpack the book at your own pace.
if your wanting a dostoevsky book to listen to I might reccomend the brothers karamazov or House of the dead. Brothers karamazov is a bit more accessible and is easier to keep together in your head while driving or casually listening. but if your looking for an very elementary introduction into dostoevsky i would highly reccomend house of the dead. it is very accessible and very interesting.

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Horrid Narration!

I wasn't even able to listen to an hour of this. It was just awful, muttering and hard to understand what he was saying!

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I get it now.

I have known about this book my whole life and had the impression of it being a dusty old tomb meant for a different time. a different world. How wrong I was. The truth I found here surpasses anything I've found in the crisp new pages of all the crisp new fad-driven books I've ingested for the sake of conversation. This one was for me, and me alone. My heart was lifted to lofty heights of humor and then pulverized. God help me be a man.

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Awesome!

What a great book to listen to when listening to when hearing the author for the first time.
The narration was great except it was much quieter than other books, and my volume was on full blast on my vehicle and on my phone. aaaaaaand slightly muffled.
A great idea would be to have the listener be able to control treble, mid, and bass, for when the recording isn't quite what it should be.

Reading long classics is very hard for me

I enjoyed the voice actor greatly, he has the magic of making the story real. This story requires much attention to the details or you will be lost quickly. So glad I took the plunge!

A welcome new translation.

I'm so glad this is not the 25th audio version of the old Constance Garnett English translation. Oliver Ready's translation is excellent.
The narration by actor Don Warrington is often hard to understand. He speaks in a half-whisper much of the time. A hoarse whisper with very soft (inaudible) consonants. He doesn't attempt to have different 'voices' for different characters.

Masterpiece

Outstanding thank you, such a treasure this book is, narrator was excellent too, I loved it.