Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Baudolino

By: Umberto Eco
Narrated by: George Guidall
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £25.99

Buy Now for £25.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

As Constantinople is being pillaged and burned in April 1204, a young man, Baudolino, manages to save a historian and a high court official from certain death at the hands of crusading warriors. Born a simple peasant, Baudolino has two gifts: his ability to learn languages and to lie. A young man, he is adopted by a foreign commander who sends him to university in Paris. After he allies with a group of fearless and adventurous fellow students, they go in search of a vast kingdom to the East - a kingdom of strange creatures, eunuchs, unicorns and, of course, lovely maidens.

Fusing historical events with myths and fables, this is a lighthearted, splendid tale.

©2000 RCS Libri S.p.A (P)2002 Recorded Books
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana cover art
Six Walks in the Fictional Woods cover art
Against the Day cover art
The Adventures of Brother Cadfael cover art
The Magic Mountain cover art
Hyperion cover art
Vineland cover art
The Secret Magdalene cover art
Elantris (3 of 3) [Dramatized Adaptation] cover art
Ancient Evenings cover art
Alexander cover art
The Innocents Abroad cover art
Spartan cover art
Taliesin cover art
Into the Wilderness cover art
The Shape of Water cover art

What listeners say about Baudolino

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    51
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    54
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    44
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wonderfully quixotic

Eco works his magic again...is this a page turning historical novel? a murder mystery? a work of semiotics? yes yes and yes (and so much more). A wonderfully enjoyable book I am still thinking about weeks later.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible

Eco's erudition is never anything less than phenomenal, here it is married to his own ineffable storytelling creating a fable that starts off as historical drama before transforming into a fantasy. One of his best works

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating

What a great story, and excellently read. If you're into history and like a good, long yarn, give it a whirl. There are also laugh out loud passages and deeply philosophical conversations.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A mythical portrait of an extraordinary time

Would you consider the audio edition of Baudolino to be better than the print version?

Never read the paper version.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Baudolino?

The psychological musings of the characters and the authenticity of their conversations, fitting the context of a time when much was imagined but very little known, to the common man. This book is great for getting one's imagination working. It is an epic.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The further you go the better it gets

So true. So false. The fate of historical interest in the postmodern style and a search for you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Brilliant & Bonkers

It’s the story of a man’s amazing life. Baudolino is a sage, a con artist & liar. It’s a journey that is fantastical, obscure, hilarious, that morphs from historical fiction to what seems like full on science fiction. I thought it was read beautifully. Not for everyone, I must admit, but I enjoyed it immensely.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

not in the league of The Rose.

initially facinating, but became tedious.
Unable to finish after 50% heard.
Umberto Eco can be a marvelous writer, but not this time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Complicated and FANTASTICAL

I think it was cleverly written but struggled myself to follow the story at the beginning until Baudolino began his journey to find Prester John. I enjoyed hearing about the many fantastical creatures as well as references to historical characters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!