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The Brothers Karamazov [Jimcin Recordings Edition]

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The Brothers Karamazov [Jimcin Recordings Edition]

By: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett - translator
Narrated by: Walter Covell
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About this listen

 Dostoevsky studied human nature with passion and precision. He plumbed the depths and never winced at what he found, even when it was beyond his understanding. This extraordinary novel is a recital of his findings, told in the story of four brothers: Dimitri, pleasure-seeking, impatient, unruly; Ivan, brilliant and morose; Alyosha, gentle, loving, honest; and the illegitimate Smerdyakov, sly, silent, cruel. What gives this story its dramatic grip is the part these brothers play in their father's murder.©1987 Jimcin Recordings (P)1987 Jimcin Recordings Classics Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Psychological Fiction Romance Suspense
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I didn't particularly like the story, but the worst part was the reading. Very mechanical. At certain points I was wondering if it was read by a bot. If you want to listen to it, I recommend finding another version

Aweful reading

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This is as poor a rendition of a brilliant novel as it has been my misfortune to hear. The narrator seems not to have read the sentences before voicing them, frequently running out of breath before reaching their end. The result is that the ends of phrases seem to be tacked on without rhyme or reason. His struggle with the Russian names is painful, and they seem not to become any more familiar to him as the reading progresses than they were at the start. Added to that, the lack of variety in tone and tempo made the reading sound like a mechanical, text-to-speech machine. Very, very poor.

Brothers Karamazov

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The narrator here seems to be working on autopilot. When there is a piece of dialogue followed by something like "he said angrily", you realise that Walter Covell frequently hasn't read ahead. Most of the women's voices sound the same. He leaves hardly any gap at the end of a chapter before giving the title of the next one and moving on. The effect is rather relentless. Characters change voice as the book goes on. I had to keep replaying sections to get the meaning. He's not without expression but doesn't do this great book justice.

Great book - dull reading

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