Faust

By: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Narrated by: David McCallion

Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is a poem, translated by Bayard Taylor, which tells the beautiful and emotional story of a man who has seen and done it all. However, despite all of his learning and education, his life still feels empty and unaccomplished. He believes wholeheartedly that there is something else out there. Faust, having exhausted all other fields of study, turns to magic for fulfillment. He summons the devil and makes a pact - that if the devil can show him something rewarding and fulfilling, he will give the devil his soul. This recording includes part I of the poem, where it concludes with Faust trying to fulfill his need for love through a woman named Gretchen, but things end up taking a tragic turn.

©2015 A.R.N. Publications (P)2015 A.R.N. Publications

Classic with Motivated Narrator

Everybody knows the Faust story, but the narrator goes all out with the correct meter.

It would be better if multiple voices were used, it can get confusing to know which character is talking.

Also, it would be good to know who the character is addressing. This can be like reading a Shakespeare play and not seeing the performance.

Also, I could just be an ignorant peasant that is not meant to understand the whole book. Cheers!

A Devils Bargain

The story of Faust, the scholar who sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for a more satisfying life, is a classic of western literature. Furthermore, this specific translation from the native German to English is, to the best of my knowledge, the best one currently available. This is the good news.

Now for the bad news: David McCallion's performance is bad. Like, laughably bad. Like, bellow average high school students reading Shakespeare bad. Granted he is performing an entire play by himself, but his sing-song tone and the "scary voice" he uses for Mephistopheles got very annoying very quickly. I adjusted to it after a few hours, but ultimately I'd strongly recommend just tracking this down in print.

Overly dramatic reading

I'm torn, because I really like this piece. But the reader reads everything so dramatically that nothing really sticks out as meaningful. I found it stressful to listen to. It's almost as bad as if someone had read it in a monotone voice.

Misleading

The description made it seem as if it had both parts, but this is only part 1. I feel ripped off.

Misleading

The description says that it is parts 1 and 2 but the book contained only part 1