1 of 1 copy available
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
February 23, 1994 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781449878238
- File size: 248107 KB
- Duration: 08:36:53
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- Lexile® Measure: 1010
- Text Difficulty: 6-8
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Reviews
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February 24, 2014
This audio edition of Cather’s novel and final book in the author’s prairie trilogy is adequately narrated by Mondelli. Following the death of his parents, Jim Burden was sent to Black Hawk, Neb., to live with grandparents. It was in Black Hawk that he met the great and enduring love of his life, the bohemian Ántonia. Years later, lawyer Jim returns to Black Hawk, where he revisits the past and witnesses how both their lives have changed. Mondelli’s reading will likely fail to delight Cather fans. While his pacing, tone, and pronunciation are workmanlike, they do little to enliven the author’s text. Similarly, the voices he lends the book’s characters are distinct and sufficient, but nothing more. Overall, listeners will likely feel that the narrator could have done more to bring this classic novel to life. -
Yarman's diction is very precise and measured. Both the pace and the articulate style make this version an excellent choice for ESL programs. R.F.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine -
Guidall's relaxed and unassuming presentation allows the listener to forget the narrator and enjoy the narration. S.J.L. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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My Antonia looks back at life on the Nebraska plains from the late 1800's to the turn of the century. The novel is perfect for audio--the narrative tone of reminiscence set when two life-long friends recall the adventures of their childhood. Grover Garner uses accents and dialect effectively for the voices of the European immigrants, who are an integral part of the story. The impersonal tone Gardner chooses for Jim Burden, the teller of the tale, is unfortunate. More inflection would enhance the presentation. Still, the pioneer spirit shines through, and this work should be a standard in a balanced audio collection. C.A.K. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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A Bohemian girl comes of age in a hardworking farming community on the Nebraska plains. Her longtime friend, Jim, relates her challenges with family and community, telling of hardship and sorrow as she matures into a wife and mother. In a pleasing, tranquil voice reader Joan Allen mesmerizes the listener and brings the small prairie community to life. Her enjoyable voice is evocative of a slower paced, moral, hardworking era. Grandma is exceptionally well vocalized as sprightly, warm, and caring, especially when Antonia's father kills himself. The listener will be sorry to hear MY ANTONIA end. G.D.W. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine
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Robert G. Slade narrates this classic with warmth and wit. He delivers the voices of Bohemians, Norwegians, and Russian immigrants with subtlety and captures the cadences of young and old. His storytelling manner gives a sense of reality to this immigrant story about foreign families settling in Nebraska, where their new lives require hard work and they sometimes receive a cool reception. Antonia is one of American literature's most striking heroines--strong, independent, spirited, and motherly, she survives and prevails. Seen through the admiring eyes of narrator Jim Burden, her story, his, and those of the other main characters are delivered with fine shading by Slade. Aside from a prejudiced portrait of a mulatto pianist, this paean to nineteenth-century prairie life remains fresh and worthy of one's time. A.D.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
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