Beautiful reading of a classic story

This book is not very long, but a real classic. Beautifully read by David Troughton. It is a very poignant telling of first love not always ending the way that you want it to! You really feel for the young boy.

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Captivating story

A vivid and captivating short story. I found it enjoyable and feels quite real and enchanting somehow. Very well read.

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Brilliant

The perfect book to get out of a reading slump! Very much enjoyed it! Brilliant

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A beautifully read classic

This was just the right length for a car journey today and so I was able to listen to it in one sitting. The reading is fantastic and really compelling. I have never read Turgenev before so it was a great introduction. As with all short stories I find myself wanting more but ended this one contenting myself with the knowledge that the writer achieved everything he intended. A gem.

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Lightweight and superficial

It is only a short story but it was a struggle to keep going. There is charm and authenticity in the depiction of the narrator's adolescent discovery of love, but the other characters are lightly penned. Zinaida - the object of his adoration - is 2 dimensional. The shallowness of her social life teasing a group of suitors may well be a reflection of mores but it is of minor interest. There is little of Turgenev's skillful juggling of various living and fascinating cast characters who all all important and fully human.

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1 person found this helpful

Almost but not quite!

The narration is good and completely satisfactory. But it is great in the way Sam West or for that matter Timothy West who both give a performance.
Obviously, the title tells exactly the theme of the story. It is a short story but in all honesty, it was a struggle to keep going. There is a great deal of repetition of events. There is charm and authenticity in the depiction of the narrator's adolescent discovery of love the blind the passion that is all emotion and no reason. However, the other characters are lightly penned. Zinaida, the object of his adoration is without depth and completely cardboard two-dimensional. The shallowness of her social life, teasing and flirting in a group of suitors may well be a reflection of mores but it is of minor interest. And definitely less interesting when described multiple times. There is little of Turgenev's skillful juggling of credible fascinating characters who are fully developed.

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Intimate and intense

Turgenev seems to work perfectly for an audiobook. A narrators casual, intimate tone, precise language and characterisation, and an intensity of emotion, all come across through the reading.

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Fast read, Toxic idea of love

The story in itself reflects very much the time (still exists today but thank god there is so much more awareness/challenges surrounding unhealthy love and behavior) and gender performances/roles - eg. mania love, abuse, manipulation.

Reading it now, so much of it was disturbing and toxic.
The way the female character behaved with careless dominance and entertainment of the men who adored her, as well as the abuse later inflicted upon her (which is a very telling way of how this is not the first time it has occurred); all described with rose-tinted glasses and a lack of responsibility across the board.

This is a book filled was unkind humans framed by the idea of “love” being at its core.

I appreciate the writing but personally, it is not a story to be positively guided by for today. Or any vulnerable persons who might use the tactics in this book, mistaking the behaviors and actions exhibited as love/kind.

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Beautiful

A beautiful tale, beautifully read. This is a superb narration of a much-loved novella. Thank you.

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Frivolous,Torrid and finally Humane.I love .

I love this period drama ,to write such a story and give it such depth is amazing.It is frightful too, something occurs which in modern terms is horrific and totally unacceptable but part of the love story.

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