RWE is great, but the narration is lacking

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Emerson is certainly one of the great thinkers of the American experience, however the narration of this text makes it quite challenging to get at the heart of Emerson's point. The narrator seems to lack the feeling and flow that would have really brought Emerson's words alive from the page to the listener's ear.

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Don't buy this

Audible should remove this narration. The performance is terrible, as if the narrator doesn't understand the meaning of words. Makes it almost impossible to understand the sentences. The most terrible cadence I've ever heard.

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narrator reads like William Shatner.

narrator reads like William Shatner. it was so hard to listen to, I couldn't finish.

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Terrible Narration

If you would like to have this Emerson classic as an audiobook, please please do NOT buy this version. The narration is absolutely awful. The narrator, while having good clear diction, reads the book as if there is a comma every third or fourth word. This becomes extremely tedious within a very short time. In fact, I would say it creates a barrier to understanding the content of the book, which was not written in modern english.

A good narration should be transparent and not get in the way of a book. However, in this case, the narrator's pauses every third or fourth word made comprehension of the content a struggle. It sounds like a computer is reading it. If I could have given this narration zero stars, I would have.

The only good thing I can say about this version is that is was really cheap and I didn't waste too much money on it. I will look for another version. The one enjoyment I got out of it was knowing I had the power to press the stop button on my player.

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the narrator is horrible

the narrator is horrible. Method acting is one thing
method reading is horrible
please find another reading

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Narration is lifeless

The narrator does not seem to understand what he is reading. I've never heard Emerson quoted with so little passion.

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Great essay destroyed

It is a pity that this essay is read by someone with such a bad voice. The reading is slow and very very low. I listen a lot in my car, but I need to cut out aal the bass, to listen to this without having popping sounds.

10 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

A difficult book to listen to.

It’s an old book, well worth listening to. But you really have to work for it. The phrasing is nonstandard by today’s language. I have no problem with that because I listen to a lot of oldies. The biggest problem is the narrator. Imagine listening to Captain Kirk or Christopher Walken reading for you. Very difficult to complete listening to the performance. Elocution is also a bit muddled at times.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

This is how to ruin Emmerson

The narrator, not the text, makes this a painful read. He adds more punctuation than there is and oddly emphasizes words that need none while ignoring those that do.

It's as if he's trying to do a bad impersonation of William Shatner.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

thought provoking

even though it's about strightforward ideas they are presented in refreshing ways that help reestablish self trust. To think that views from back then resonates so well now and that it was spelled out more clear than I've heard from anyone today. It's so many ideas presented that I've wondered about before and had no one to voice them with. Most of those ideas would help explain why it's a great essay. Most of them might be taboo in society even today. For example trust your thoughts when you think them instead of seeking validation or what ever the source of your inner nature let it lead you over seeking guidance from outside. Even the idea of not expecting leaving a place where you feel terrible to change that feeling. Mostly is that how the more I listen to it the more I get from it the writing andword choices are complex for me. I never knew a good amount of the words but the context helped me not have to google each time.