-
Competent interpretations of complex characters
“While some listeners/readers have objected to Tim Robbins' rendering of this modern classic, I found it quite listenable (?). It's eviden that Robbins has taken voice articulation in his acting training (something you wouldn't necessarily decipher from his acting roles). The central characters he renders distinctively, and that is no easy task. Some non-actors can do it well; some actors can do it well. Many actors, and non-actors don't do it well. As part of the intrigue of the book is the difficulty in really getting a hold on just who these characters/people are, an interpretation that is competent should be good enough. To the point, in a letter to Max Perkins, Fitzgerald admits not being able to fulfill his obligation as a writer in rendering satisfactory emotional threads for his characters. ”
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-11-07. -
like a sad but magical melody
“It's easy to see why The Great Gatsby has become such a classic. The plot is simple, yet Fitzgerald's writing is so lyrical that I felt like the story was layered with deeper meanings and symbolisms that maybe I wasn't quite getting. Perhaps I need to listen to it again.
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-09-12.
Robbins' narration is excellent; he gives each person their own distinct voice which fills out and complements Fitzgerald's characterization. And Fitzgerald's narrative style is so timeless that it's hard to believe this was actually written over 80 years ago. It is this timeless quality that makes a true classic.
The book reminds me strongly of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's -- a outsider looking back and telling the story of the brief and magical time that he crossed paths with dazzling but tragic people, the simplicity of the plot, the symbolisms and deeper meanings. Perhaps Capote was more than a little influenced by Fitzgerald's earlier work -- ??” -
tragic story, bizarre reading
“Embarrassingly, I have never read The Great Gatsby. Listening to this audio book was my introduction to the story and I really enjoyed it. The cold casual demeanor of those born into wealth contrasted against the desperate grasping of a man who wasn't and the sarcastic disdain from the narrator for the whole of it is one of the finest collection of emotions and characters I have come to know from a book in a long time.
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-08-15.
As for the reading by Tim Robbins, it was bizarre. He has a lovely voice and the prose was beautiful when read by him from time to time. But his character voices were weird and inconsistent. He stumbled, mispronounced, stuttered. I was just surprised by that since I expected something different.
The audio quality is superb, no feedback, no background noise or saliva sounds (if you listen to a lot of audio books you know how distracting the smacking can be). the volume is consistent. Tim Robbins and Robert Sean Leonard's voices are well recorded and natural sounding. Robert Sean Leonard is the cancer doctor on the TV show House if you ever watch that. He is not a voice actor for the story but does read some of Fitzgerald's letters after the story concludes. His reading is very good and his voice is great.
If you enjoyed the book I think you might be disappointed by the voice acting by Robbins. Despite his performance I really did enjoy listening to this so I still give it a more positive review than a negative one, hence 3 stars. ” -
The Great Gatsby as performed by the cast of SNL
“It had been 40 years since I had read the Great Gatsby and I had an 8 hour drive, so I took this edition out of the library. If anything can make an 8 hour drive seem even more interminable, this is it. Tim Robbins' rendition is simply terrible. Each character other than the narrator, Nick Carraway, is a caricature as might be performed by a high school drama class or perhaps John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd Chevy Chase and Gilda Radner in a spoof of the novel. Find another audio version or read the book - if you listen to this version you will certainly be bored and irritated. ”
An amazon user wrote this on 2008-08-01. -
Great narration overall, but some pretty bad spots...
“Ok, first off, The Great Gatsby is a great book that somehow reached me back in high school when I loved it even though I was forced to read it... That is indeed a rarity, and is why I've read it quite a few times since then.. I even used Monarch/Cliff notes with this book -- for its intended purpose, and not just to get enough information, so I can pass a test... So the book is great, but you should all know that by now..
An amazon user wrote this on 2008-05-03.
Tim Robbins' narration is for the most part, beautifully done... His characterization of Nick Carraway is so captivating and I can really get into the story when Nick is speaking.. The only problem is that Mr. Robbins kinda softens his voice where you have to raise the volume... Which causes some problems when he switches characters - especially to Tom Buchanan, whom Mr Robbins YELLS his lines, causing me to quickly reach for the volume knob in the car...
Theres quite a few characters in this book, and I think Mr. Robbins just ran out of voices.. Some of his characterizations, particularly women, are HORRIBLE. I'll cut him some slack since he's a guy, but if you want to hear the worst stereotypical Long Island (and Southern) female voices, he's nailed it..
Don't let this ruin it for you though, his narration otherwise is one of the best I've heard yet...”
