Literary Criticism audiobooks

The Art of the Novel

By: Milan Kundera

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm

Length: 4 hours 31 minutes

Abridged: No

“Incites us to reflect on fiction and philosophy, knowledge and truth, and brilliantly illustrates the art of the essay.” — The New Republic""Every novelist's work contains an implicit vision of the history of the novel, an idea of what the novel is. I have tried to express the idea of the novel that is inherent in my own novels."" — Milan... Read more

The Curtain

By: Milan Kundera

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm

Length: 4 hours 40 minutes

Abridged: No

“A magic curtain, woven of legends, hung before the world. Cervantes sent Don Quixote journeying and tore through the curtain. The world opened before the knight-errant in all the comical nakedness of its prose.”In this thought-provoking, endlessly enlightening, and entertaining essay on the art of the novel, renowned author Milan Kundera... Read more

Encounter

By: Milan Kundera

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm

Length: 4 hours 21 minutes

Abridged: No

“I can’t imagine reading this book without being challenged and instructed, amused, amazed and aroused, and ultimately delighted.” —John Simon, New York Times Book ReviewMilan Kundera’s brilliant collection of essays is a passionate defense of art in an era that, he argues, no longer values art or beauty. With the same dazzling mix of emotion... Read more

The Storytelling Animal

By: Jonathan Gottschall

Narrated by: Kris Koscheski

Length: 5 hours 32 minutes

Abridged: No

Humans live in landscapes of make-believe. We spin fantasies. We devour novels, films, and plays. Even sporting events and criminal trials unfold as narratives. Yet the world of story has long remained an undiscovered and unmapped country. It's easy to say that humans are "wired" for story, but why?

In this delightful and original book, Jonathan... Read more

Una stanza tutta per sé

By: Virginia Woolf

Narrated by: Silvia Cecchini

Length: 3 hours 58 minutes

Abridged: No

A Room of One's Own è un saggio della celebre autrice inglese Virginia Woolf. Fu pubblicato nel 1929 e si è basato su due conferenze tenute a ai due college femminili di Newnham e Girton, dell'Università di Cambridge, nel 1928. Il saggio, scorrevole e brillante, ripercorre la storia della scrittura nelle donne, e la storia delle donne, e la... Read more

The Renaissance

By: Walter Pater

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

Length: 6 hours 24 minutes

Abridged: No

Published to great acclaim in 1873, Walter Pater's compendium of idiosyncratic, impressionistic essays on the Renaissance gained him a reputation as a daring modern philosopher. Oscar Wilde called it the "holy writ of beauty." It was Pater's cry of "art for art's sake" that became the manifesto for the aesthetic movement. He believed that art... Read more

Jack

By: George Sayer

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

Length: 13 hours 25 minutes

Abridged: No

Numerous biographies have been written about this great theologian, literary critic, and novelist, but we have found this to be the best.Sayer describes Lewis’ early years, hinting at childhood evidence of the brilliance and eccentricity that would later become Lewis’ hallmarks. He discusses Lewis’ academic career, his life-transforming... Read more

Selling Ben Cheever

By: Ben Cheever

Narrated by: Ben Cheever

Length: 10 hours 13 minutes

Abridged: No

Ben Cheever was a senior editor for Reader's Digest for 11 years and has published three novels. In 1995, however, his latest book proposal had been rejected, so he went looking for work. This is his wry account of the dozen jobs he held as an entry-level employee in the service sector. As he filled out applications, no one seemed to mind that... Read more

Joseph Andrews - Abridged

By: Henry Fielding

Narrated by: Sean Barrett

Length: 5 hours 35 minutes

Abridged: Yes

Penguin Classics presents Henry Fielding's Joseph Andrews, adapted for audio and available as a digital download as part of the Penguin English Library series. Read by the actor Sean Barrett.

'Kissing, Joseph, is but a prologue to a Play. Can I believe a young fellow of your Age and Complexion will be content with Kissing?'

Henry Fielding's... Read more

Shakespeare's Restless World

By: Neil MacGregor

Narrated by: Neil MacGregor

Length: 4 hours 29 minutes

Abridged: No

What was life like for Shakespeare's first audiences? In a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, how did Elizabethan play-goers make sense of their changing world? What did the plays mean to the public when they were first performed? In this fascinating series, Neil MacGregor attempts to answer these questions by... Read more

New Ways to Kill Your Mother

By: Colm Toibin

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

Length: 11 hours 37 minutes

Abridged: No

Novelist and critic Colm Tóibín provides “a fascinating exploration of writers and their families” (Entertainment Weekly) and “an excellent guide through the dark terrain of unconscious desires” (The Evening Standard) in this brilliant collection of essays that explore the relationships of writers to their families and their work.

Colm... Read more

How to Build an Android

By: David F. Dufty

Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot

Length: 7 hours 37 minutes

Abridged: No

The stranger-than-fiction story of the ingenious creation and loss of an artificially intelligent android of science fiction writer Philip K. DickIn December 2005, a young robotocist on his way to Google headquarters lost an overnight bag on a flight somewhere between Dallas and Las Vegas. In it was the fully functional head of an android... Read more

Tolkien and the West

By: Michael Drout

Narrated by: Michael Drout

Length: 5 hours 15 minutes

Abridged: No

The works of J.R.R. Tolkien are quite possibly the most widely read pieces of literature written in the 20th century. Read more

The Lost Generation

By: Michael Shelden

Narrated by: Michael Shelden

Length: 7 hours 27 minutes

Abridged: No

The Lost Generation from Professor Michael Shelden evokes one of the most creative periods in American literature. Paris of the 1920s served as a base for such authors as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, and Gertrude Stein. In these lectures, Professor Shelden details and provides fresh insight into the unending allure of the... Read more

Get Talking German in Ten Days Beginner Audio Course

By: Paul Coggle & Heiner Schenke

Length: TBA

Abridged: No

If so then you need to Get Talking. Through 10 common scenarios plus culture and travel advice, you?ll learn the skills for understanding and the confidence to speak German in just 10 days.Practice the most frequent words and expressions for:- getting a taxi- checking into a hotel- introducing yourself at a reception- ordering drinks- ordering a... Read more

Mark Twain’s Helpful Hints for Good Living

By: Mark Twain

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 4 hours 23 minutes

Abridged: No

Irreverent, charming, and eminently quotable, this handbook—an eccentric etiquette guide for the human race—contains sixty-nine aphorisms, anecdotes, whimsical suggestions, maxims, and cautionary tales from Mark Twain’s private and published writings. It dispenses advice and reflections on family life and public manners; opinions on topics such... Read more

Luistercursus Nederlands voor Spaanssprekenden

By: Willy Hemelrijk

Narrated by: Willy Hemelrijk

Length: 3 hours 44 minutes

Abridged: No

Uitstekende beginnerscursus voor Spaanstaligen die niet of nauwelijks Nederlands spreken. Leer circa 750 woorden uit de dagelijkse praktijk. De cursist krijgt in drie delen uitleg en instructies in de eigen taal. Read more

Emerson's Essays

By: Charles W. Mignon

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 4 hours 7 minutes

Abridged: No

The CliffsNotes study guide on Emerson's Essays supplements the original literary work, giving you background information about the author, an introduction to the work, a graphical character map, critical commentaries, expanded glossaries, and a comprehensive index, all for you to use as an educational tool that will allow you to better... Read more

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

By: James L. Roberts, Ph.D.

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Length: 2 hours 34 minutes

Abridged: No

The CliffsNotes study guide on Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer supplements the original literary work, giving you background information about the author, an introduction to the work, a graphical character map, critical commentaries, expanded glossaries, and a comprehensive index, all for you to use as an educational tool that will allow... Read more

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

By: Elizabeth Conner

Narrated by: Kate Rudd

Length: 1 hour 41 minutes

Abridged: No

The CliffsNotes study guide on Shaffer and Barrows' The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society supplements the original literary work, giving you background information about the author, an introduction to the work, a graphical character map, critical commentaries, expanded glossaries, and a comprehensive index, all for you to use as an... Read more

Fathers and Sons

By: Denis M. Calandra

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Length: 2 hours 34 minutes

Abridged: No

The CliffsNotes study guide on Turgenev's Fathers and Sons supplements the original literary work, giving you background information about the author, an introduction to the work, a graphical character map, critical commentaries, expanded glossaries, and a comprehensive index, all for you to use as an educational tool that will allow you to... Read more

Gulliver's Travels

By: A. Lewis Soens

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Length: 3 hours 16 minutes

Abridged: No

The CliffsNotes study guide on Swift's Gulliver's Travels supplements the original literary work, giving you background information about the author, an introduction to the work, a graphical character map, critical commentaries, expanded glossaries, and a comprehensive index, all for you to use as an educational tool that will allow you to... Read more

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

By: Amie Whittemore

Narrated by: Kate Rudd

Length: 2 hours 35 minutes

Abridged: No

The CliffsNotes study guide on Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo supplements the original literary work, giving you background information about the author, an introduction to the work, a graphical character map, critical commentaries, expanded glossaries, and a comprehensive index, all for you to use as an educational tool that will... Read more

The Help

By: Adam Sexton

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Length: 1 hour 32 minutes

Abridged: No

The CliffsNotes study guide on Stockett's The Help supplements the original literary work, giving you background information about the author, an introduction to the work, a graphical character map, critical commentaries, expanded glossaries, and a comprehensive index, all for you to use as an educational tool that will allow you to better... Read more