Buddenbrooks cover art

Buddenbrooks

The Decline of a Family

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Buddenbrooks

By: Thomas Mann
Narrated by: David Rintoul
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About this listen

First published in 1900, when Thomas Mann was 25, Buddenbrooks is a minutely imagined chronicle of four generations of a North German mercantile family - a work so true to life that it scandalized the author's former neighbours in his native Lübeck.

As he charts the Buddenbrooks' decline from prosperity to bankruptcy, from moral and psychic soundness to sickly piety, artistic decadence and madness, Mann ushers the reader into a world of rich vitality, pieced together from births and funerals, weddings and divorces, recipes, gossip and earthy humour. It is perhaps the first great family saga of modern literature, and it brought to public notice a writer of world stature who, three decades later, was to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. David Rintoul gives one of his finest performances in this committed and deeply moving reading.

©1993 Alfred A Knopf (P)2016 Ukemi Productions Ltd Classics

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I've never read or listened to Thomas Mann before and the excellent reviews persuaded me to launch upon this long long book. Beautifully crafted and humorously observed, this is the story of the Buddenbrookes, a good old family in terminal decline, along with the society they inhabit in turn of the century Germany. The performance is absolutely flawless and I felt comfortably carried along in another world, where action is sparse, people are flawed and life stories neither gripping nor tedious - a real world. A lovely book for all fans of slowly-unfolded epics.

Gentle and devastating.

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A perfect combination of narrator and plot. The narrator generally keeps his tone neutral, but adds subtle nuance in exactly the right places.
A treat!

Possibly my favourite Audible book so far

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Brilliant chronicle of a family suffering slow decline. Mann masterfully details his characters and makes you feel part of the family.

Fantastic

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The story is good, although I struggle with long books. What really raised it all was the narrator - performing without either gurning or droning, with a subtle understanding that made all the parallels and points that Mann was making so much clearer.

Great story, with a superlative narrator

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Gripping story of the slow decline of a powerful trading family over three generations. David Rintoul brings it brilliantly to life in this excellent reading.

Brilliant reading of an enthralling family saga

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This is one of these books you might know that you should really read. But for some reason you haven't yet... perhaps it looked very long. Maybe it's just seems too old school? I'm here to tell you that this is more than ticking some old book off your bucket list. Mann was 26 old when he finished this book and it is easy to tell. It's so fresh, quick and funny, so bold and different and yet so mundane and recognisable. Seriously, this book might just change your life. PS. Brilliantly read and performed in this edition.

Absolutely epic

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A great novel beautifully read by David Rentoul but hampered by over elaboration.

A truly great novel.

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The performance of the narrator is first class. Each character is easily definable and their traits come to life. Themes such as isolation, conformity, choice, and obviously death are confronted in a variety of situations through the decline of Family Buddenbrooks. It’s the second time I have listened to this and no doubt I will come back o it once more.

Spine tingling presentation of a gripping story

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Not an exciting book but so well written. Really enjoyed it and will look for other books by Thomas Mann.

Buddy brooks

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Very enjoyable reading of a clever translation, which catches the nuances of pre-unification German society. The decline of a mercantile family, often humorously drawn, played out against the seismic changes of the 19th century. Highly recommended.

The German Middlemarch

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