Beautiful reading of a classic story

This book is not very long, but a real classic. Beautifully read by David Troughton. It is a very poignant telling of first love not always ending the way that you want it to! You really feel for the young boy.

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Captivating story

A vivid and captivating short story. I found it enjoyable and feels quite real and enchanting somehow. Very well read.

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Brilliant

The perfect book to get out of a reading slump! Very much enjoyed it! Brilliant

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A beautifully read classic

This was just the right length for a car journey today and so I was able to listen to it in one sitting. The reading is fantastic and really compelling. I have never read Turgenev before so it was a great introduction. As with all short stories I find myself wanting more but ended this one contenting myself with the knowledge that the writer achieved everything he intended. A gem.

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brilliant

Really enjoyed it, brilliantly read. a story that is riveting and which I found to be genuinely touching. thoroughly recommended.

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One of the most beautiful Russian novels

One might say this is the Russian version of “The Sorrows of Young Werther”, however, Turgenev’s poetical and expressive style makes it much more impactful and interesting. I keep listening to some of the chapters again and again.

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First Love

An exquisite story made even more exciting by the brilliant narration of David Troughton. I simply forgot all else !

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Lightweight and superficial

It is only a short story but it was a struggle to keep going. There is charm and authenticity in the depiction of the narrator's adolescent discovery of love, but the other characters are lightly penned. Zinaida - the object of his adoration - is 2 dimensional. The shallowness of her social life teasing a group of suitors may well be a reflection of mores but it is of minor interest. There is little of Turgenev's skillful juggling of various living and fascinating cast characters who all all important and fully human.

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1 person found this helpful

Almost but not quite!

The narration is good and completely satisfactory. But it is great in the way Sam West or for that matter Timothy West who both give a performance.
Obviously, the title tells exactly the theme of the story. It is a short story but in all honesty, it was a struggle to keep going. There is a great deal of repetition of events. There is charm and authenticity in the depiction of the narrator's adolescent discovery of love the blind the passion that is all emotion and no reason. However, the other characters are lightly penned. Zinaida, the object of his adoration is without depth and completely cardboard two-dimensional. The shallowness of her social life, teasing and flirting in a group of suitors may well be a reflection of mores but it is of minor interest. And definitely less interesting when described multiple times. There is little of Turgenev's skillful juggling of credible fascinating characters who are fully developed.

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Intimate and intense

Turgenev seems to work perfectly for an audiobook. A narrators casual, intimate tone, precise language and characterisation, and an intensity of emotion, all come across through the reading.

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