-
Beowulf: A New Translation
- Narrated by: JD Jackson, Maria Dahvana Headley
- Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $10.39
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Beowulf: The New Translation
- By: Gerald J. Davis
- Narrated by: John Hanks
- Length: 3 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The origins, history and authorship of Beowulf are shrouded in uncertainty. This heroic epic probably began, as most do, with a wandering troubadour strumming a stringed instrument, sitting before a hearth-fire, and singing the verses to a spellbound audience arrayed before him. Beowulf is a rousing adventure story, filled with intrepid heroes, monsters and fire-breathing dragons, which can be listened to for the sheer enjoyment of the tale.
-
-
Hard to follow as audio
- By CSterle on 10-14-14
By: Gerald J. Davis
-
The Mere Wife
- A Novel
- By: Maria Dahvana Headley
- Narrated by: Susan Bennett
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the perspective of those who live in Herot Hall, the suburb is a paradise. Picket fences divide buildings - high and gabled - and the community is entirely self-sustaining. Each house has its own fireplace, each fireplace is fitted with a container of lighter fluid, and outside - in lawns and on playgrounds - wildflowers seed themselves in neat rows. But for those who live surreptitiously along Herot Hall’s periphery, the subdivision is a fortress guarded by an intense network of gates, surveillance cameras, and motion-activated lights.
-
-
Strange, Dark, and Beautiful
- By Lena Leigh on 07-04-20
-
Beowulf
- By: Seamus Heaney
- Narrated by: Seamus Heaney
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best seller and Whitebread Book of the Year, Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney's new translation of Beowulf comes to life in this gripping audio. Heaney's performance reminds us that Beowulf, written near the turn of another millennium, was intended to be heard not read.
-
-
Why, oh, why is it abridged?
- By Tad Davis on 09-25-08
By: Seamus Heaney
-
Gilgamesh
- A New English Version
- By: Stephen Mitchell - translator
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This brilliant new treatment of the world's oldest epic is a literary event on par with Seamus Heaney's wildly popular Beowulf translation. Esteemed translator and best-selling author Stephen Mitchell energizes a heroic tale so old it predates Homer's Iliad by more than a millennium.
-
-
A defense of this "translation"
- By George on 07-16-08
-
Grendel
- By: John Gardner
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World renowned critic John Gardner has received prestigious awards for his wide range of literary achievements including short stories, novels, and essays. When he turns his talents to retelling Beowulf, the earliest epic in British literature, the result is a work that combines extensive knowledge with a marvelous strain of pure fun. In Gardner's version of the epic, instead of lauding the helmeted hero, Beowulf, the spotlight shines on Grendel.
-
-
Unselfconscious, powerful narration.
- By Stephanie on 01-12-10
By: John Gardner
-
Smoke and Mirrors
- Short Fictions and Illusions
- By: Neil Gaiman
- Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Smoke and Mirrors, Gaiman's imagination and supreme artistry transform a mundane world into a place of terrible wonders - where an old woman can purchase the Holy Grail at a thrift store, where assassins advertise their services in the Yellow Pages under "Pest Control," and where a frightened young boy must barter for his life with a mean-spirited troll living beneath a bridge by the railroad tracks.
-
-
almost perfect
- By Jorge I. Figueroa on 12-10-14
By: Neil Gaiman
-
Beowulf: The New Translation
- By: Gerald J. Davis
- Narrated by: John Hanks
- Length: 3 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The origins, history and authorship of Beowulf are shrouded in uncertainty. This heroic epic probably began, as most do, with a wandering troubadour strumming a stringed instrument, sitting before a hearth-fire, and singing the verses to a spellbound audience arrayed before him. Beowulf is a rousing adventure story, filled with intrepid heroes, monsters and fire-breathing dragons, which can be listened to for the sheer enjoyment of the tale.
-
-
Hard to follow as audio
- By CSterle on 10-14-14
By: Gerald J. Davis
-
The Mere Wife
- A Novel
- By: Maria Dahvana Headley
- Narrated by: Susan Bennett
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the perspective of those who live in Herot Hall, the suburb is a paradise. Picket fences divide buildings - high and gabled - and the community is entirely self-sustaining. Each house has its own fireplace, each fireplace is fitted with a container of lighter fluid, and outside - in lawns and on playgrounds - wildflowers seed themselves in neat rows. But for those who live surreptitiously along Herot Hall’s periphery, the subdivision is a fortress guarded by an intense network of gates, surveillance cameras, and motion-activated lights.
-
-
Strange, Dark, and Beautiful
- By Lena Leigh on 07-04-20
-
Beowulf
- By: Seamus Heaney
- Narrated by: Seamus Heaney
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best seller and Whitebread Book of the Year, Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney's new translation of Beowulf comes to life in this gripping audio. Heaney's performance reminds us that Beowulf, written near the turn of another millennium, was intended to be heard not read.
-
-
Why, oh, why is it abridged?
- By Tad Davis on 09-25-08
By: Seamus Heaney
-
Gilgamesh
- A New English Version
- By: Stephen Mitchell - translator
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This brilliant new treatment of the world's oldest epic is a literary event on par with Seamus Heaney's wildly popular Beowulf translation. Esteemed translator and best-selling author Stephen Mitchell energizes a heroic tale so old it predates Homer's Iliad by more than a millennium.
-
-
A defense of this "translation"
- By George on 07-16-08
-
Grendel
- By: John Gardner
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World renowned critic John Gardner has received prestigious awards for his wide range of literary achievements including short stories, novels, and essays. When he turns his talents to retelling Beowulf, the earliest epic in British literature, the result is a work that combines extensive knowledge with a marvelous strain of pure fun. In Gardner's version of the epic, instead of lauding the helmeted hero, Beowulf, the spotlight shines on Grendel.
-
-
Unselfconscious, powerful narration.
- By Stephanie on 01-12-10
By: John Gardner
-
Smoke and Mirrors
- Short Fictions and Illusions
- By: Neil Gaiman
- Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Smoke and Mirrors, Gaiman's imagination and supreme artistry transform a mundane world into a place of terrible wonders - where an old woman can purchase the Holy Grail at a thrift store, where assassins advertise their services in the Yellow Pages under "Pest Control," and where a frightened young boy must barter for his life with a mean-spirited troll living beneath a bridge by the railroad tracks.
-
-
almost perfect
- By Jorge I. Figueroa on 12-10-14
By: Neil Gaiman
-
Alan Bennett: Stories
- Read by Alan Bennett
- By: Alan Bennett
- Narrated by: Alan Bennett
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A unique collection of eight Alan Bennett stories, read by the author. Alan Bennett is one of Britain's best-loved authors and an acclaimed storyteller. This exclusive compilation includes eight of his best tales, collected together for the first time. Here is his celebrated, iconic memoir 'The Lady in the Van'; as well as two fascinating autobiographical accounts of his family and childhood.
By: Alan Bennett
-
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- By: J. R. R. Tolkien
- Narrated by: Terry Jones
- Length: 4 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A collection of three medieval English poems, translated by Tolkien for the modern-day reader and containing romance, tragedy, love, sex and honour.
-
-
An absolute delight!
- By Shannon Slee on 07-15-18
By: J. R. R. Tolkien
-
Troy
- The Greek Myths Reimagined
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Full of tragic heroes, intoxicating love stories, and the unstoppable force of fate, there is no conflict more iconic than the Trojan War. Troy is the story of the epic battle retold by Fry with drama, humor, and vivid emotion. Achilles, Hector, Odysseus, Helen, their lovers, and their mortal enemies all burn bright in Fry's compelling prose. This volume invites you to explore a captivating world with a brilliant storyteller as your guide.
-
-
Thank the gods
- By Stefan Filipovits on 06-22-21
By: Stephen Fry
-
Watership Down
- By: Richard Adams
- Narrated by: Peter Capaldi
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fiver could sense danger. Something terrible was going to happen to the warren; he felt sure of it. They had to leave immediately. So begins a long and perilous journey of survival for a small band of rabbits. As the rabbits skirt danger at every turn, we become acquainted with the band, its humorous characters, and its compelling culture, complete with its own folk history and mythos. Fiver’s vision finally leads them to Watership Down, an upland meadow. But here they face their most difficult challenges of all.
-
-
Capaldi is FANTASTIC; tech editing, not as much
- By Becca on 05-19-19
By: Richard Adams
-
The Odyssey
- By: Homer, Emily Wilson - translator
- Narrated by: Claire Danes
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Acclaimed actress Claire Danes burnishes an epic story of heroes, gods, and monsters in a groundbreaking translation of The Odyssey, the first great adventure story in the Western literary tradition. When the wily warrior-king Odysseus sets off for home after the Trojan War, he doesn’t realize this simple undertaking will become a perilous journey of 10 years. Beset at every turn, he encounters obstacles, detours, and temptations—both supernatural and human—while his wife Penelope fends off would-be suitors desperate to take the throne.
-
-
Lisping ragged reading
- By J. Dixon on 12-12-19
By: Homer, and others
-
Norse Mythology
- By: Neil Gaiman
- Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Neil Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a bravura rendition of the great northern tales. In Norse Mythology, Gaiman fashions primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds; delves into the exploits of the deities, dwarves, and giants; and culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and the rebirth of a new time and people.
-
-
Great book
- By Amazon Customer on 12-05-19
By: Neil Gaiman
-
Akata Witch
- Akata Witch Series, Book 1
- By: Nnedi Okorafor
- Narrated by: Yetide Badaki
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born American. Her features are African, but she has albinism. She's a terrific athlete but can't go out into the sun to play soccer. There seems to be no place where she fits in. And then she discovers something amazing - she is a "free agent" with latent mystical power.
-
-
Dialogue driven story with poor dialogue
- By Meredith on 08-13-19
By: Nnedi Okorafor
-
Midnight Robber
- By: Nalo Hopkinson
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's Carnival time and the Caribbean-colonized planet of Toussaint is celebrating with music, dance, and pageantry. Masked "Midnight Robbers" waylay revelers with brandished weapons and spellbinding words. To young Tan-Tan, the Robber Queen is simply a favorite costume to wear at the festival - until her power-corrupted father commits an unforgiveable crime. Suddenly, both father and daughter are thrust into the brutal world of New Half-Way Tree....
-
-
Even Through the Dimensions, Girls Are Not Safe
- By mary on 12-11-12
By: Nalo Hopkinson
-
Fragile Things
- By: Neil Gaiman
- Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marvelous creations, including a short story set in the world of The Matrix and others set in the worlds of gothic fiction and children's fiction, can be found in this extraordinary collection, which showcases Gaiman's storytelling brilliance as well as his entertaining (and dark) sense of humor.
-
-
Shadow Returns!!
- By Laura on 04-02-07
By: Neil Gaiman
-
All Tomorrow's Parties
- By: William Gibson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rydell is on his way back to near-future San Francisco. His job has him convinced that his career is going nowhere, but his friend Laney, phoning from Tokyo, says there's more interesting work for him in Northern California. And there is, although it will eventually involve his former girlfriend, a Taoist assassin, the secrets Laney has been hacking out of the depths of DatAmerica, the CEO of the PR firm that secretly runs the world and the apocalyptic technological transformation of, well, everything.
-
-
Worth several listenings.
- By Laura on 04-22-11
By: William Gibson
-
The Canterbury Tales
- The New Translation by Gerald J. Davis
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: John Hanks
- Length: 20 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The classic collection of beloved tales, both sacred and profane, of travelers in medieval England. Complete and unabridged.
-
-
Excellent.
- By MD on 06-29-21
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
-
The Wolf in the Whale
- By: Jordanna Max Brodsky
- Narrated by: Jordanna Max Brodsky
- Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A sweeping tale of clashing cultures, warring gods, and forbidden love: In AD 1000, a young Inuit shaman and a Viking warrior become unwilling allies as war breaks out between their peoples and their gods - one that will determine the fate of them all.
-
-
A Craftily Woven Tale
- By Sarah C Sage on 08-04-20
Publisher's Summary
Hugo Award for Best Related Work, 2021
"Narrator JD Jackson addresses his listener as 'bro' in this decidedly contemporary retelling of the classic saga ... His brilliant performance captures all the artistry, wit, and immediacy of this fresh translation, and breathes new life into what for most has been a literary fossil." (AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner)
A new, feminist translation of Beowulf by the author of the much-buzzed-about novel The Mere Wife
Nearly 20 years after Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf - and 50 years after the translation that continues to torment high-school students around the world - there is a radical new verse translation of the epic poem by Maria Dahvana Headley, which brings to light elements that have never before been translated into English, recontextualizing the binary narrative of monsters and heroes in a tale in which the two categories often entwine, justice is rarely served, and dragons live among us.
A man seeks to prove himself as a hero. A monster seeks silence in his territory. A warrior seeks to avenge her murdered son. A dragon ends it all. The familiar elements of the epic poem are seen with a novelist’s eye toward gender, genre, and history - Beowulf has always been a tale of entitlement and encroachment, powerful men seeking to become more powerful, and one woman seeking justice for her child, but this version brings new context to an old story. While crafting her contemporary adaptation of Beowulf, Headley unearthed significant shifts lost over centuries of translation.
A Macmillan Audio production from MCD x FSG Originals
"Brash and belligerent, lunatic and invigorating, with passages of sublime poetry punctuated by obscenities and social-media shorthand." (Ruth Franklin, The New Yorker)
"The author of the crazy-cool Beowulf-inspired novel The Mere Wife tackles the Old English epic poem with a fierce new feminist translation that radically recontextualizes the tale." (Barbara VanDenburgh, USA Today)
Critic Reviews
An NPR Best Book of the Year, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, 2020
Locus Awards Nominee, 2021
More from the same
Author
Narrator
What listeners say about Beowulf: A New Translation
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Corinna D. Girard
- 01-02-21
Ridiculous
Literally started with “Bro”.
Nope.
I got this for my kids. This translation is laughable. We stopped 15 minutes in and got a real translation.
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tavish Armstrong
- 08-26-20
Best audiobook narrator I've ever heard
I wish this narrator did more of the Audible catalogue. This guy could stand up in a crowded pub (or mead hall) and recite this story and people would listen.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chairman
- 10-09-20
In the intro the author spoils the book
I would skip the intro in which the author starts spoiling plot points if you’ve never read this book before. I’ll give a longer review when I’m finished but that really irked me.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Julie W. Capell
- 04-26-21
From Tolkien to Marvel, it all started here
How refreshing to read a translation of something as old as Beowulf and hear modern turns of phrase like "bro" and "I'm dropping knowledge now." As anyone who has ever tried translation knows, it's not so hard to translate word-for-word. What is insanely difficult is to translate the feel of a book, to give voice to the deep down voice of the author while using a completely new language. Headley has achieved this with an audaciousness most translators are loathe to attempt.
Other reviewers who are more knowledgeable about the original text have done a better job of explaining what Headley has achieved than I ever could. Here I will simply say that this rendering of an ancient tale felt entirely new, while at the same time showing that the new stories we often try to tell are simply retellings of "ur" stories like this one. From Tolkien to Marvel, all are beholden to the bards of old. Huzzah!
[I listened to this as an audio book read by JD Jackson, which seems like the perfect way to experience this epic tale.]
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Drew
- 12-31-20
Great narrator, frustrating translation
The narrator does a great job reading legendary story. His voice and tone brings the gravitas such a story deserves.
The word choice and the author’s thoughts however are frustrating. Her introduction is at least 30 minutes and rubbed me the wrong way. The modern slang used, especially her use of the word “bro” is jarring and distracting to the story.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 01-10-21
New words for timeless themes.
Jarring, sometimes vulgar, the language is engrossing and the story is made more entertaining by the mix of old and new.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dan I.
- 02-13-21
Very cool, a breath of fresh air!
I loved this. Very cool interpretation and updated twist on one of the original classics.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Matt Orienter
- 01-18-21
Worth every second
Translators of verse begin at a very high level of difficulty and a similar level of expectation. Beginning with such source material and adding exceptional narration yielded a rewarding experience from top to bottom.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Bruce A. Frishkoff
- 12-01-20
A bracing, involving experience!
This was really absorbing. What a way to make an old story current and available and powerful.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Bikeopeli
- 10-16-20
The death of the sentuous
Men struggle to extract wealth from the earth and fight nature’s life in order to enjoy their spoils. But it breeds rivalries, threat, and treason forever guarded by overwhelming force. Yet life itself stays on the eternal clock and leave descendants vulnerable of the next exploiter.
2 people found this helpful