Customer Reviews
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2 out of 5 stars
By
Camilo
on
07-31-11
Grandiloquent
Old fashion production. Its affected style contrasts with Kafka's understated tone. The recordings are limited to a couple of hours and exclude some of Kafka's best short stories.
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4 of 7 people found this review helpful
5 out of 5 stars
By
TD HANSON
on
05-02-17
LOTTE LENYA READS KAFKA
This same recording was my introduction to Kafka [minus the unnecessary soundtrack] I was a son of the sixties and explored many things and during my travels found myself in the basement room with friends to listen to this same recording.
We were spellbound and wanted to listen again but Seer said "No!. . .once a week only as l never want tire of this." And he was right. Each week we gathered with new friends to share our new find.
The reader Lotte Lenya added to the gray atmosphere seen in most WW II films of Nazi occupation. Her voice has a harshness which accents each phrase akin to mood in his work.
You will remember her as Colonel Klegg, the Soviet defector to Spectre in From Russia With Love. lf you don't remember. . .you will the instant you hear her first phrase.
My only bad mark was adding music to detract from my experience.
You will enjoy this.
TD HANSON
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful
4 out of 5 stars
By
Richard
on
04-07-11
Very worthwhile for Kafka fans
A very interesting set of recordings. Once I'd got used to Lotte Lenya's (Rosa Klebbe in 'From Russia with Love') accent (which didn't take long), this was a delight. She gives a very impassioned rendering of the stories and the the musical backing adds to the intensity of the reading, though it would have been fine without it.
She was an inspired choice to narrate. I wonder if there are any other recordings in the archives?
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3 of 3 people found this review helpful
1 out of 5 stars
By
Mr. Brendan Hayes
on
04-05-14
Doesnt work
Would you try another book written by Franz Kafka or narrated by Lotte Lenya?
Yes...if the was no music score running behind the narration....
Would you recommend The Best of Franz Kafka's Short Stories to your friends? Why or why not?
Just couldn't separate the narration and music.
Did Lotte Lenya do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?
Lotte's slavic pronunciation of English was the final nail in the coffin...
Any additional comments?
...I reckon this is the one exception to the rule that audiobooks are the 'stereo' to the physical books 'mono'....
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