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Faust

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Faust

By: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Narrated by: Tim Habeger
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About this listen

Goethe's masterpiece and perhaps the greatest work in German literature, Faust has made the legendary German alchemist one of the central myths of the Western world. Here indeed is a monumental Faust, an audacious man boldly wagering with the devil, Mephistopheles, that no magic, sensuality, experience or knowledge can lead him to a moment he would wish to last forever.

Public Domain (P)2012 Audible, Inc. Classics

Editorial reviews

The protagonist of Goethe's masterpiece has become one of the most enduring and well-known characters in Western literature. Faust, in his ambition, makes an arrangement with the devil Mephistopheles: Mephistopheles will do everything Faust desires while the alchemist lives, and in exchange, Faust will serve the devil in Hell after his death. The arrangement hinges on the catch that if Faust encounters a moment that he wishes will last forever, he will die in that moment. Narrator Tim Habeger's Faust is world-weary and cynical, and Habeger's low-key performance avoids theatrics, instead providing a solid interpretation of Goethe's work.

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I really enjoyed the story and performance. I saw a review complaining of the performance before I listened, however, I can only disagree with that review as I found the performance to be outstanding.

Really enjoyable

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I fell asleep three times I tried reading this - and not in the good way.
The heavy American accent is both slow and mistimed.
It's like listening to Homer Simpson, except he doesn't know any of the words.

The worst accent and reading

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This version does not list the translator, only the narrator, which is a grave oversight. From what I can tell they’re using the Bayard Taylor translation from 1870 because it’s out of copyright and therefore cheeper for audiobook production. But this is a verse translation that attempts to mirror Goethe’s rhyme schemes and meters, which makes it difficult to follow. The syntax gets contorted to fit the rhyme and German dramatic verse doesn’t land well in English. Choose a different translation, and hopefully one that credits their translator.

Faust

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