The Red and the Black, Volume II


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(3.8 stars; 25 reviews)

Stendhal - a German pen-name for a French writer who hated the English. Contemporary to some of the great names of French literature like Balzac and Flaubert, Stendhal is quite often considered a writer that doesn't seem to fit a defined genre. Some say he's a Romantic, others that he's a Modernist and that Le Rouge et Le Noir is the first modern novel. On one point they are all agreed: the novel is a masterpiece that shows a young theology student - Julien Sorel - intelligent, handsome and who is determined to rise above his humble peasant origins. Stendhal presents the reader with a satirical plot that will involve you in passions, intrigues, last-minute reversals and, mostly, the hypocrisy by which society operates. (Summary by sailormoon) (0 hr 15 min)

Chapters

01 - The Pleasures of the Country 30:21 Read by Malone
02 - Entry into society 20:36 Read by Leni
03 - The First Steps 8:20 Read by Leni
04 - The Hotel De La Mole 37:05 Read by Malone
05 - Sensibility and a Great Pious Lady 8:56 Read by Malone
06 - Pronounciation 19:50 Read by Malone
07 - An Attack of Gout 22:22 Read by Malone
08 - What is the decoration which confers distinction? 30:31 Read by Malone
09 - The Ball 24:59 Read by Malone
10 - Queen Marguerite 20:24 Read by Lynne T
11 - A Young Girl's Dominion 12:23 Read by Malone
12 - Is he a Danton? 17:38 Read by Malone
13 - A Plot 26:38 Read by Malone
14 - A Young Girl's Thoughts 17:00 Read by Malone
15 - Is it a Plot? 12:38 Read by madcappe
16 - One o'clock in the morning 16:06 Read by madcappe
17 - An old Sword 11:29 Read by madcappe
18 - Cruel Moments 13:54 Read by madcappe
19 - The Opera Bouffe 24:21 Read by madcappe
20 - The Japanese Vase 15:49 Read by madcappe
21 - The Secret Note 12:35 Read by Chiquito Crasto
22 - The Discussion 19:59 Read by Chiquito Crasto
23 - The Clergy, The Forests, Liberty 19:40 Read by Chiquito Crasto
24 - Strasbourg 15:03 Read by Chiquito Crasto
25 - The Ministry of Virtue 15:40 Read by Chiquito Crasto
26 - Moral Love 8:52 Read by Chiquito Crasto
27 - The finest places in the church 8:02 Read by Chiquito Crasto
28 - Manon Lescaut 10:00 Read by Chiquito Crasto
29 - Ennui 8:27 Read by Chiquito Crasto
30 - A Box at the Bouffes 10:43 Read by Chiquito Crasto
31 - Frighten her 11:27 Read by meridiculous
32 - The Tiger 12:25 Read by Lynne T
33 - The Hell of Weakness 11:23 Read by Rapunzelina
34 - A Man of Intellect 13:51 Read by Rapunzelina
35 - A Storm 13:45 Read by rookieblue
36 - Sad Details 17:11 Read by Lynne T
37 - A Turret 10:06 Read by Rapunzelina
38 - A Powerful Man 13:21 Read by Rapunzelina
39 - The Intrigue 10:24 Read by Rapunzelina
40 - Tranquility 9:30 Read by Rapunzelina
41 - The Trial 20:37 Read by Malone
42 - Chapter 72 14:20 Read by Nadine Eckert-Boulet
43 - Chapter 73 15:03 Read by Malone
44 - Chapter 74 21:25 Read by Malone
45 - Chapter 75 20:17 Read by Malone

Reviews

duncalino


(4 stars)

Book gets 5 stars...most of the readers are fabulous but for the end. This is a masterpiece which had me hypnotized throughout volume one and two.....until the final dramatic conclusion when I had to stop listening because of the reader. How can it be that the final conclusion and wrap up of a 2 volume masterpiece is randomly assigned to a reader without regard to the listener experience? I understand and agree that LibriVox should be open to one and all. We are not all meant to readers at the expense of the listeners. Instead of listening I had to get a book and read the end

a worthy satire


(3 stars)

For some time the main character kept me intrigued but after about the middle of volume two, I became tired of his inability to maintain a settled state of his emotions for more than a few hours. There were periods of time where his prospects changed so rapidly that he alternated between murderous hate and romantic passion and between ecstatic triumph one minute to serious thoughts of suicide the next. As the novel progressed past the middle of the second volume, I found myself becoming less sympathetic and more annoyed with character. What did continue to be amusing were his romantic relationships, so that they became more satirical. For me the most admirable value of the novel was that of an excellent satire of the social culture and morals of the period. The plot itself was too drawn out and repetitive in a way that seemed to detract from what I was expecting to be a great artistic undertaking. Since I liked reading Trollope and Wilkie Collins very much, I cannot be prejudiced toward lengthiness. However I would have given this a higher rating, if it had been shortened by 25 per cent or more.

one of the best books of all time


(5 stars)

This is a great book. I loved it, will read it again probably and think Stendhal was a genius. Heck, even the great Nietzsche thought very highly of him. Amazing detail, a picture of a book. Worth every minute.

I don’t know what to say . . .


(3.5 stars)

To speak much about the story might be a spoiler. Mostly well read, especially by Malone.


(4 stars)

the novel is outstanding but please use narrators that can pronounce,French proper names