A Son At The Front


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.3 stars; 13 reviews)

This is an overlooked novel by the author of House Of Mirth, Age Of Innocence, and more. She already became the first woman to win the Pulitzer prize for literature before this novel was written. Edith Wharton is known for her combination of social observations, criticism, and compassion. This WWI novel is told from the point of view of parents, forced to live their own lives when their son is at the front. John and Julia are divorced parents. When their only son George enlists, Julia and her second husband do their best to give him a desk job. But George shocks everybody by enlisting. His mother is horrified, his father and stepfather are secretly proud. But would he return alive? - Summary by Stav Nisser (10 hr 50 min)

Chapters

Chapter I 16:18 Read by Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
Chapter II 18:02 Read by MLC13
Chapter III 20:24 Read by MLC13
Chapter IV 24:17 Read by MLC13
Chapter V 17:10 Read by MLC13
Chapter VI 6:26 Read by ChadH94
Chapter VII 16:30 Read by MLC13
Chapter VIII 21:51 Read by MLC13
Chapter IX 20:33 Read by ChadH94
Chapter X 17:20 Read by ChadH94
Chapter XI 22:47 Read by ChadH94
Chapter XII 21:51 Read by ChadH94
Chapter XIII 17:13 Read by ChadH94
Chapter XIV 24:46 Read by ChadH94
Chapter XV 15:04 Read by Riley McGuire
Chapter XVI 14:40 Read by ChadH94
Chapter XVII 19:42 Read by ChadH94
Chapter XVIII 12:38 Read by ChadH94
Chapter XIX 18:36 Read by ChadH94
Chapter XX 17:47 Read by ChadH94
Chapter XXI 15:46 Read by MLC13
Chapter XXII 7:47 Read by MLC13
Chapter XXIII 10:57 Read by MLC13
Chapter XXIV 23:22 Read by MLC13
Chapter XXV 18:08 Read by MLC13
Chapter XXVI 16:20 Read by Claire Wilde
Chapter XXVII 19:28 Read by Alison Gilchrist
Chapter XXVIII 17:00 Read by Jeff Mattison
Chapter XXIX 17:13 Read by MLC13
Chapter XXX 18:41 Read by MLC13
Chapter XXXI 22:14 Read by Riley McGuire
Chapter XXXII 14:38 Read by Riley McGuire
Chapter XXXIII 19:51 Read by Riley McGuire
Chapter XXIV 22:27 Read by Riley McGuire
Chapter XXXV 14:22 Read by Riley McGuire
Chapter XXXVI 28:31 Read by Riley McGuire

Reviews


(1 stars)

I found it very hard to listen to as the reading was very stilted as if the reader was struggling with the text. Added to that every so often a pasted in word would be magnified ..one where the pronunciation was impossible for the reader so some other source was used. I found myself focusing more on the struggling reader than the story. It was such a battle for him there was nothing left for emotion or variance in tone.

Great Book, Mixed Reading


(3 stars)

The first 6 or 7 chapters (read by women) are great but then a heavily accented male voice reads too quickly, fails to differentiate characters in dialogue, mispronounces words and in general disrupts the flow. That being said, other voices return & restore the reading. Still, this one male voice inadvertently draws attention to itself and away from the story. Disappointing