Le Pere Goriot cover art

Le Pere Goriot

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Le Pere Goriot

By: Honoré de Balzac
Narrated by: David McCallion
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About this listen

Honoré de Balzac uses his classic style of detail to describe a most controversial setting in his novel Le Pere Goriot. The story takes place in Paris just after the fall of Napoleon in 1819. The story focuses on three characters, Rastignac, a student who wants to try and make it big in the capital, Vautrin, an interesting and funny character who is also quite mysterious, and the main character, Goriot, that carries a heavy burden that only a loving parent would endure.

The story follows the journey of Rastignac, the two daughters of Goriot, and Goriot himself who was once a wealthy businessman. It's a heart wrenching story of a man driven to poverty by the selfless acts and the overwhelming love and devotion that he has for his two daughters, both of whom are very selfish, and do not share the same love for their father.

How far will Goriot go to keep his daughters happy, and will the daughters ever appreciate the great sacrifices this man has made for them?

Public Domain (P)2016 A.R.N. Publications Classics Funny Heartfelt
All stars
Most relevant
The narrator mispronounced most French and some English words. The performance was very flat in other respects.

Poor narration

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It is a shame that this is the only version of this classic available on audible .
The narration is utterly dreadful and
frankly you would be better served listing to one of the French versions,of which there are many, even if
You cannot speak the language it will be a better listen than the dull monotonous version that is this recording.
One to avoid

Oh dear

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One of the great classic novels, but the narration is awful. Staccato, too quick and mostly monotonous, with occasional bursts of emotion often in the wrong places. The attempts at French pronunciation are random and mostly woeful, while many of the characters' voices are painful to listen to. Given that the only other reviews on the UK store make the same point, it's disappointing that this is still being made available for purchase.

Spoilt by narration

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