Audiobook Sample
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- Title: Love and Friendship
- Author: Jane Austen
- Narrator: Unknown
- Length: 01:10:00
- Version: Abridged
- Release Date: 01/01/2011
- Publisher: LibriVox
- Genre: Fiction & Literature, Classics
- ISBN13: SABLIBX978089
As I settled into my favorite armchair with a cup of oolong tea – the same chair where I first discovered Murakami’s magical realism during my Tokyo fellowship – I pressed play on this LibriVox recording of Austen’s early work. What unfolded was a delightful revelation of nascent genius that transported me back to my undergraduate days at Yale, where we’d analyze Austen’s mature novels with reverence. Here, in this audiobook free of charge yet rich in cultural significance, we encounter the raw, unfiltered Austen at fourteen – a prodigy already wielding satire like a rapier.
The listening experience begins with immediate recognition of Austen’s epistolary experiment. The unknown narrator (a common feature of LibriVox’s volunteer recordings) adopts an appropriately earnest tone that perfectly contrasts with the text’s inherent absurdity. There’s something wonderfully meta about hearing an anonymous voice deliver Austen’s intentional misspellings – ‘freindship’ becoming an aural inside joke between author and listener.
Through my comparative literature lens, what fascinates me most is how this juvenilia anticipates Austen’s later thematic concerns. The parody of sentimental novels (which I often contrast with Japanese literary traditions in my seminars) reveals young Austen’s precocious understanding of narrative conventions. The audiobook format accentuates the comedy – when Laura dramatically declares ‘I murdered my father at a very early period of my Life,’ the deadpan delivery highlights Austen’s satirical genius better than silent reading ever could.
The recording quality, while not studio-perfect, carries charming authenticity. Occasional background noises and slight inconsistencies in volume remind me of my Berkeley students’ first podcast attempts – there’s beauty in this democratic approach to literature. What the narration lacks in polish, it gains in accessibility, making Austen’s early work available to all.
Comparing this to Stillman’s 2016 film adaptation (which I screened for my Digital Humanities class last semester), the audiobook preserves more of Austen’s original textual playfulness. Where the film necessarily visualizes the absurdity, the audio version allows our imaginations to heighten the parody – proving sometimes less production yields more literary payoff.
For contemporary listeners, I’d recommend this audiobook as both literary history and pure entertainment. It’s particularly revelatory when heard alongside Austen’s mature works – like viewing Picasso’s early sketches. The free accessibility through LibriVox makes it ideal for:
1. Austen scholars tracking her development
2. Creative writing students studying parody
3. Anyone needing a 45-minute escape into 18th-century humor
My one critique mirrors my experience teaching epistolary novels – the form can feel disjointed in audio format. Without visual paragraph breaks, some satirical transitions risk being missed. Yet this minor flaw becomes its own commentary on how we consume literature across mediums – a discussion I relish having with my students.
In scholarly admiration and shared literary joy,
Prof. Emily Chen
