Camilla

Very Very Very Slow Burn

(3.5 stars)

Kristin P.

I am new to the work of Ms. Burney, this being the second of her novels that I’ve listened to. This novel was very very long, which isn’t a bad thing in itself, except that the misfortunes, trials, and afflictions that fall upon the heroine continually accumulate throughout the whole—to the point where I would inwardly groan at each new quandary and would have to take a break because the build-up became unbearable at times. Some of the characters made me really angry too, but maybe that just proves how well Fanny Burney can flesh out her work. These points aside, I still managed to finish the whole novel and was satisfied with the long-awaited denouement. The reading of Lars Rolander was really lovely. His accent makes some words harder to understand, but his voice is gentle and soothing to hear. There was another prominent reader of this work who did a great job until it came to giving accents and voices to the characters. They were so historically and geographically inappropriate for the characters that it made me cringe, and I was compelled to read many of those chapters from a downloaded text that I found. Maybe it wouldn’t be an issue for other listeners, but the incongruity took me right out of the story. I still appreciate all the time and effort that goes into the production of such a lengthy recording, but with all said and done, I give this recording 3.5 stars.

wonderful vocabulary!

(5 stars)

ChrisyB

It kept me attentive despite occupying my hands with other things. Very interesting story, you never know what new scheme will be thought of by the uncle. Beautifully read! The ups and downs of life are skillfully shown in this entertaining book.

(3 stars)

Lea Choi

It’s a pretty good reading of Camilla. There is one reader who does crazy and annoying character voices and unfortunately recorded a lot of the chapters, which is the only reason I rated this version as only 3 stars. But the rest of the readers are good, especially Mr. Rolando. So if you can get through the crazy voice lady’s sections, it’s still worth listening to.

Drawn out

(3 stars)

Tygerlily

The book does a great job of flushing out a few characters as they go though life and get their just desserts. The thing takes several books to communicate a series of awkward misunderstandings. If liars had been honest and people just said how they felt, the book would have been a tenth of the size it is. I feel a bit cheated at the end with such a quick and tidy wrap up after hours of bearing through. All sorts of different readers that were mostly good while jarring the flow of having just one reader. Jane Austen should not have recommendeded this book.

Camilla

(4 stars)

Ophelia

this book is awful and wonderful and absolutely insane. Frances burney managed to create a story that tortures its reader while they are still unable to put it down. The calamities are near ridiculous in their extreme and numerous appearances, yet written so well and with such vocabulary that one feels it is an asset to have read. Frances burney being the inspirer of Austen truly shows in this book as it has a great likeness to Austen's love and friendship. An impressive book I'm glad I read.

Rules for living

(5 stars)

A LibriVox Listener

I did enjoy it 😉 What an incredible contrast to the way we live now! I was easy to spot the influence of this story on Jane Austen. Lars (I hope I got his name right) was my favorite reader. Thank you!

I enjoyed it

(5 stars)

WareforCoin

The readers weren't all perfect, but I was surprisingly absorbed into the story. If you have some long drives to make, or a long shift at work, this book will get you through it.

(4 stars)

A LibriVox Listener

Really engrossing though so very wrong. The heartache that Camilla suffered is beyond imagination; she loved in a way that is unreal. I suffered along with her and could not escape.