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First Love Audiobook
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(3.01) - 2,637 listener ratings
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Audiobooks by this Author:
![A Hunter's Sketches [Russian Edition] Audibook, by Ivan Turgenev](https://media.audiobookstore.com/c/e/cejs/cejs-square-240.jpg)
![Fathers and Sons [Russian Edition] Audibook, by Ivan Turgenev](https://media.audiobookstore.com/c/e/cem5/cem5-square-240.jpg)
Publisher Description
Ivan Turgenev’s First Love follows a sixteen-year-old boy’s infatuation with an older princess who has moved in next door.
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"A very lovely book. I don't know how seriously I took it, the scenes were strangely described and bordered on the absurd; however, though I foresaw the final tragedy of who she chooses over the narrator I sympathized with his shock and sadness. It was sweet simplicity at its finest."
— Shaherzad (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“One of the most perfect things ever written.”
— The Guardian (London) -
“Narrator Edoardo Ballerini gives Turgenev’s classic novella a wonderfully expressive reading…The novella splendidly describes youthful infatuation and has an unexpected ending that breaks the young man’s heart. The listener definitely feels the young man’s pain. For those who are familiar with Turgenev’s works, at least it doesn’t end like Mumu. Ballerini is quite expressive, and his delivery conveys some of the breathlessness of the adolescent. His baritone gives subtly different voices to the several characters in the story and is just as skilled in reading the narrative.”
— Audiofile
First Love Listener Reviews
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" This was unexpectedly boring. The narrative distance didn't work for me resulting in a protagonist that I couldn't sympathize with. I felt like throttling Turgenev at one point and shouting 'show, don't tell!' but I suppose it's rude to disturb the dead... "
— Samir, 2/19/2014 -
" at the end of dinner parrty, the remaining guests tell stories of their first love. for one of them it will be dark journy into his past. "
— Haman, 1/15/2014 -
" Stunning. Not read Turgenev before but I must read more! "
— Tim, 12/9/2013 -
" A beautiful and strangely compelling gem. "
— Anna, 12/4/2013 -
" Read it and learn how to wrap men around your littlest finger. "
— Siobhan, 11/27/2013 -
" If the passion of Monet's water Lilies could be depicted in a sleeping Russian prose it would be this book. "
— Kevin, 11/25/2013 -
" A cute story. Both adorable and tragic but still a good read. Short so not a huge time commitment. Russian author also so it's nice to check out books that aren't necessarily from a North American point of view. "
— Jenn, 8/27/2013 -
" Very vivid storytelling techniques are employed in this novel. "
— Brennan, 7/25/2013 -
" I'm not crazy over the translation. "
— Eve, 7/5/2013 -
" young love is obsessive or young obsession is lovely or obsession is lovely when young or obsessive young love or lovely obsessions when young or love young obsessives "
— Aniss, 3/23/2013 -
" My first Turgenev. It will not be my last, though. "
— ST, 3/5/2012 -
" I thought it's very short story. His 1st love was too peaceful. Just admiring at girl one he gave heart and always make what she wanted. Love the way he express his self to girl. "
— Moxy, 3/3/2012 -
" A nice, quick read. Turgenev always fills you up and never lets you down. Heh. "
— Amber, 1/27/2012 -
" Good little review of the idea of youth at the end. Very smart. "
— Megan, 1/19/2012 -
" Turgenev hits the nail on the head about what your first love is usually like, but with an even more cynical twist. I really liked this translation--the language was very beautiful. "
— Lori, 8/26/2011 -
" Makes me want to read his "Fathers and sons" someday somehow "
— Gemini, 7/13/2011 -
" This bite-sized vignette is one of my favourites. The plot is rather cliche-ridden but the narrator's clear but poetic description of the environment and in particular of the sharpness of youthful passions always moves me. Guess I'm a romantic fool... "
— David, 6/22/2011 -
" I am surprised on what book that John Grisham have done on this book. It is not like the books that he have written but he did real good with this one. I would not think of any other book that took it to that point. Good job John!! "
— Shenelle, 6/9/2011 -
" Very powerful, radiant and well-written. "
— Elizabeth, 5/15/2011 -
" It was like plain vanilla ice cream, nice, but nothing special. "
— Andrea, 1/18/2011 -
" If the passion of Monet's water Lilies could be depicted in a sleeping Russian prose it would be this book. "
— Kevin, 1/10/2011 -
" A short story.Finished in couple of hours.<br/><br/>It was fun reading about first love.<br/>A change for me after reading so many crime books. "
— Nomad, 10/31/2010 -
" First Love (Penguin Great Loves) by Ivan Turgenev (2007) "
— Christy, 7/3/2010 -
" Makes me want to read his "Fathers and sons" someday somehow "
— Gemini, 5/10/2010 -
" I'm not crazy over the translation. "
— Eve, 5/9/2010 -
" The feeling of first love, how a boy fell in love with a girl. The very first feeling of love. The story surely describes the Russian way of feeling love. <br/> <br/>Yes it also touches other nationals too but I guess first love be best described in the readers own culture/language. "
— Samir, 4/7/2010 -
" I thought it's very short story. His 1st love was too peaceful. Just admiring at girl one he gave heart and always make what she wanted. Love the way he express his self to girl. "
— Moxy, 3/18/2010 -
" Cinta pertama memang tak terlupakan. Lebih tak terlupakan bila cinta itu berakhir tragis. Sang tokoh dalam novelet ini bukan saja memiliki kisah cinta pertama yang berujung duka, malahan dia harus berhadapan dengan kenyataan tentang kebenaran yang menyakitkan. "
— cindy, 3/8/2010
About Ivan Turgenev
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818–1883) was the first Russian writer to gain a wide reputation in Europe. He witnessed the February Revolution in Paris (1848), and his subsequent connection with reform groups in Russia, along with his sympathetic 1852 eulogy of Nikolai Gogol (who satirized the corrupt bureaucracy of the Russian empire), led to his arrest and one-month imprisonment in St. Petersburg. In 1879 the honorary degree of doctor of civil law was conferred upon him by the University of Oxford.
About Edoardo Ballerini
Edoardo Ballerini, an American actor, director, film producer, and multiaward–winning narrator. He has won several Audie Awards for best narration, including for 2019’s Best Male Narrator of the Year. He was named by Booklist as winner of their 2023 Voice of Choice Award, and was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine in 2019. He has narrated over two hundred audiobooks, from classics to modern masters, from bestsellers to the inspirational, from Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners to spine-tingling series, and much more. In television and film, he is best known for his roles in A Murder at the End of the World, The Sopranos, 24, I Shot Andy Warhol, Dinner Rush, and Romeo Must Die. He is also trained in theater and continues to do much work on stage.