Sketches New and Old
Mark Twain
Read by John Greenman
This collection of 63 writings by Mark Twain was published in 1882. Among other sketches, it contains "The Jumping Frog" in the original English, followed by a French translation (read here by Caroline Mittler) which Twain re-translated into English, showing how the French translation of his work was "badly flawed." In many of these sketches, Twain shows his talent for outrageous and hilarious inventiveness, often in reaction to current events. (Summary by John Greenman) (10 hr 33 min)
Chapters
Reviews
Some real hidden gems.
Grodhagen
First, the reader is magnificent. It's not hard to imagine that you are listening to the author. In fact, both stem from the same area of the MidMississippi River. As with any writing that is now 100 to 150 years old, it helps to have a sense of history, and not just major events, but, as well, with the epoch's prevailing attitudes and beliefs. That said, there is a timelessness about Samuel Clemens that makes these sketches ring true about human nature. Together with the other large volumes on Twain's newspaper articles, we see that---altough we often think of his novels---the man was a master of shorter works, and here we are treated to a smörgåsbord of genres, from the serious to the tall tale, along with unexpected side trips.
sketched smiles
Shelly
Don't know how anyone could find these boring. They are all interesting, astute,whimsical and entertaining. So many different subjects....they all made me smile and frequently, I laughed aloud. Excellent reader - the right tone throughout.
Decent Twain. Fantastic reading.
Bizz
The narration is among the best you'll find here. or anywhere else, for that matter. Easy to clear and understand. Engaging.
Cavorting
godot
Excellent voice for Twain, and excellent reading. But check the pronunciation of the word 'cavorting'.
MT truly scraped the barrel to publish this boring collection.
Joy
well read
Sketches New and Old
David R. Smith
Well read, fun listen - thanks!