Oblomov

By: Ivan Goncharov, C. J. Hogarth

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

This novel centers on the figure of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, a member of the dying class of the landed gentry, who spends most of his time lying in bed gazing at life in an apathetic daze, encouraged by his equally lazy servant Zakhar and routinely swindled by his acquaintances. But this torpid existence comes to an end when, spurred on by his crumbling finances, the love of a woman, and the reproaches of his friend, the hardworking Schtoltz, Oblomov finds that he must engage with the real world and face up to his commitments.

©2019 Ivan Goncharov and C. J. Hogarth (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

When ennui strikes

The eponymous character suffers under the weight of chronic ennui. But this is more a tale about the times than of the man. In particular a 19th century Russian mindset (an extended dream scene of Oblomov's as a child is brilliant). Stefan Rudnicki as narrator was an obvious if overused choice.

modern neets the book

I don't have much to say about the story but the way it depicts a man who was born into comfort and raised without worry which goes into adulthood is very accurate

Good reading, great book - imperfect translation

A very nice reading of a book that has long needed a good (English) audiobook version. A shame, though, that it is the out-of-copyright Hogarth translation that is used, as it is not the best version available and is significantly truncated from the original text.

Narrator fail

The narrators voice is so weirdly throaty you can barely hear his pronunciation, unfortunately the recording artist performance sort of ruins it. I had her read most of it. Otherwise have the potential to be an interesting story

Abridged

Compared it to the Penguin translation, you’re losing about 30% of the book, including several of the more interesting side characters and important interactions.
If the book said it was abridged, that would be fine. But, it doesn’t.