'Of Man's First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste Brought Death into the World, and all our woe...' So begins the greatest epic poem in the English language. In words remarkable for their richness of rhythm and imagery, Milton tells the story of man's creation, fall and redemption - 'to justify the ways of God to men.' Here, unabridged, and told with exceptional sensitivity and power by Anton Lesser, is the plight of Adam and Eve, the ambition and vengefulness of Satan and his cohorts.
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One could hardly hope for a more intelligent reading of Milton's epic poem, relating Satan's temptation of Adam and Eve and their fall. Anton Lesser's clarity, expressiveness, and careful weighting of each phrase deserve high praise. The dialogue comes across like Shakespearean drama, and while Lesser doesn't vary his voice much, he strikes the right note for each character. In Satan's soliloquies, when he whispers, Lesser's reading is thrilling; but when he thunders, his somewhat thin tenor makes him sound querulous rather than grand, so where we expect tympani, we get a snare drum. Still, Lesser provides so much else it seems small-minded to cavil at this flaw. He makes Milton exciting. W.M. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful performance of this "classic",
By Tom O'Bedlam (Jersey City, NJ) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Paradise Lost (Naxos AudioBooks) (Audio CD)
Mark Twain remarked that "a classic" is a book that people praise, but don't read.Prior to listening to this unabridged audio version, I was only dimly aware of PARADISE LOST. I knew it was an epic poem about Satan's fall from grace, and knew that it was quoted in the Star Trek episode "Space Seed." ("It is better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven.") British thespian Anton Lesser brings the saga dramatically to life. It is a delight to hear a great actor speak great verse and tell an epic tale. You still have to pay close attention to the proceedings. Multitasking throughout will leave you baffled and doing much rewinding. This is not for those with short attention spans. Focus is required, but you will be rewarded. For those who revel in marvelous spoken word performances, this is highly recommended.
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sorry to reach the end of it!,
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This review is from: Paradise Lost (Naxos AudioBooks) (Audio CD)
A person considering buying a recording of Paradise Lost might have two questions. First, Am I going to be able to follow the poem without notes and guidance? Second, should I buy the complete version or the abridged one?Paradise Lost is a notoriously difficult text, full of learned references to mythology, history, and geography; the language is dense, the syntax twisted, the sense frequently obscure; and the poem is just plain long. Perhaps surprisingly, Anton Lesser's reading makes it possible to ride over all these difficulties; his intelligent and varied readings make the sense clear even when the language isn't. One hears the infinite variety of the poem, the delicate and touching parts as well as the stirring and sublime, the innocence of Paradise and the magnificent evil of Satan. I've read Paradise Lost perhaps half a dozen times over the years, always with notes; this is the first time I was sorry to reach the end of it. But what about the abridged version? I don't recommend it; Milton builds up his climaxes on a vast scale, and a "great moments from Milton" approach weakens their effect. Also, on the abridged version, Eve is read by an actress. This seems to me a mistake; Paradise Lost is full of voices -- Satan and all the demonic throng, the allegorical figures of Sin and Death (Sin is also a woman), God, the Messiah, the angelic host, Adam and Eve -- and to single out one of the voices is to falsely highlight and distort. (Plus, the part is read with an odd accent, almost Irish; what is that about?) It must be granted that all of Lesser's skill can't make God Himself more than a cold and distant abstraction. But that is what Milton wrote, and probably what he intended. So, my recommendation is to spend the extra and get the complete set. It's something you wouldn't want to miss!
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good, and yet something is missing...,
This review is from: Paradise Lost (Naxos AudioBooks) (Audio CD)
If possible, I would have given this recording 4.5 stars. Lesser's reading is in many ways masterful; as an experienced Shakespearian actor, he has absolute command of blank verse and makes Milton's often convoluted syntax sound almost like natural speech. Throughout the poem, he reads in a slow-paced, majestic manner that adds appropriate gravitas to Milton's Biblical subject, especially with lines spoken by God and Satan that could easily become unintentionally humorous in the hands of a less skilful narrator. Unfortunately, Lesser never really varies from this style in parts of the text where he probably should - unlike other Naxos unabridged audiobooks, all the characters are read in almost exactly the same way, a potential source of confusion in scenes where there are multiple speakers. Lesser also doesn't pick up the tempo much for the more dramatic, suspenseful sequences where his ponderous tone is less appropriate. This is by far the best recording of Paradise Lost currently available, but I would personally have preferred a more "dramatic" reading that brought out Milton's plot and characterisation to a greater extent.
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