Customer Reviews

Paradise Lost (Naxos AudioBooks)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

I tend to be a very fast reader, and unfortunately that doesn't work well with poetry. A few years back I read the "Divine Comedy" and couldn't help racing through it. I missed a lot of the beauty of the work because of my reading habits. I have been listening to several audio books on my daily commute and saw that this work was available and decided to give it a try. I felt that listening to poetry in a spoken format would allow me to enjoy the beauty of it more since I believe most poetry was originally designed for oral transmission.

I found that listening to "Paradise Lost" did meet my expectations. I had to concentrate, but the effort was well worth it. I couldn't race through it and enjoyed it as intended. Anton Lesser did an excellent job as usual as the reader. His voice seemed appropriate for this type of work; though I agree with another reviewer that a more powerful voice may have been appropriate for the voice of God.

I really enjoyed Milton's vision of the creation and fall. The epic descriptions of the heavens and Satan and the other characters were vivid and I could see why this is considered such a great work. From a theological perspective, it was interesting to see his view of the origin of the angels, the Son, and Satan. He did a very good job of taking cryptic verses from the Bible and other sources and expanding them out into a powerful story.

I highly recommend this audio book and feel that this is a very good way to be introduced to Milton.

For many people this book can be a daunting task to read (myself included). Reading along with this audio has helped me tremendously. It is very well done and follows the text perfectly. I recommend reading along with it. I've tried just listening and I find my mind wanders a bit.

This is the whole text of Paradise Lost, including the 'Arguments' heading each book, read by an accomplished actor able to convey character and attitude as well as maintain Milton's rhythmic thrust. I have sampled all the other recordings; as I recall there was only one other, currently available, which was of the entire text, and it was nowhere near as good. Having the text on CD (or iPod) makes it possible to hear when you are not in a position to read--I often listen lying quasi-insomniac in bed. I personally am more interested in Blake than in Milton, but because Milton was a crucial influence on Blake and the subject of one of his major prophecies, I was delighted to find this recording. I would not have had the time or focus to read or re-read the text in the midst of my numerous other readings. Now if only there were comparable readings of Blake's prophecies! (I'm working on doing that myself.)

This recording is beautifully done and makes a great companion to the written text. It's great if you are doing a study on the text, or just want to listen to the poetry.