Customer Reviews

Rip Van Winkle & Other Stories By Washington Irving

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

 

 

Washington Irving has been called the father of American Literature, and without a doubt he appears to be one of the first great storytellers of our nation, later succeeded by Mark Twain in the late 19th century. Irving's wonderful tales, presented here in a superb audio reading, remind us why Irving has been so immensely popular for 200 years.

The stories are quite diverse, and many take place in foreign locales such as Germany, Paris, and the Alhambra in Spain. However readers will be most familiar with Irving's classic tales of the Catskills and Hudson River Valley, Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. For readers familiar with Tim Burton's recent gothic interpretation of the latter story, you may be surprised to learn that Irving's tale is more of a period piece about the battle for the affection of a young lady (Katrina Van Tassel) then a murder mystery starring the legendary headless horseman. And while a modern reader might get a little tired of hearing about the culinary delicacies which tempted schoolteacher Ichabod Crane, anybody would enjoy the detailed settings and timeless narrative style employed in these tales.

Irving had a knack for effectively setting the scene for a story, describing the bend of the great river and the hamlets (such as Tareytown) which are depicted in these tales. I believe they are best enjoyed in audio format, where a typical 30 minute commute might enable you to hear a single story during one sitting. These tales are well-read by Donada Peters, whose voice struck me as a cross between Angela Lansbury and Vanessa Redgrave. These tales are timeless, and while some tales are certainly better than others ( I thought the Tale of the Mason was pretty weak in particular) there is something to enjoy in each of them.