The Queen of Spades

A Pushkin Short Story

By: Alexander Pushkin

Narrated by: Deaver Brown

"The Queen of Spades" is the best known and probably the best of all Russian short stories. It confronts the great riches of a few and the impoverishment of the many in the form of the assistant to the fabulously rich and old Countess; Hermann, who seeks great wealth through any means; and the countess's knowledge of how to win one's fortune on three cards. The denouement is worthy of being considered one of the finest in literature. As a great critic said, Gogol's "The Overcoat" may have been the great work that inspired Russian authors such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, but the "Queen of Spades" inspired all of literature.

Public Domain (P)2011 Christina Brown

A wretched performance

Would you try another book from Alexander Pushkin and/or Deaver Brown?

I have read other Pushkin stories and will re-read some favorites. I shall never listen to another book by Deaver Brown

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I could hardly bear to listen to the story as the reading was so amateurish.

How could the performance have been better?

I'm not sure there's much hope for this reader. The voice is abrasive and his pronunciations are all over the shop. Nothing professional about the performance.

Murder!

Sorry to be so negative but after listening to this version for 10 minutes that was the only word that came to mind. In my opinion the narration was simply awful.
The short story is very good,but in this case take the time to read it yourself.

The stilted performance ruined the story for me.

I will try to find a different performer to liaten to this famous story again.