The Return of the Native (Cover to Cover Classics) (ISBN 1572700904)

A Suberb Recording:
First, let me confess that I bought this because I am a fan of Alan Rickman's wonderfully rich, mellifluous baritone and the idea of spending hours listening to him read one of the classics of English literature is was absolute heaven to me. And, I can honestly say, I was not disappointed; the recording is absolutely brilliant. Using ever nuance and range of his distinctive Rickmans each character that poulates Egdon Heath his or her own distinctive voice and cosistantly applies it throughout from the beginning to the end of the story. When he reads the description of the wild and desolate heath, Rickman's voice turns Hardy' prose into sublime poetry.

The return of the native:
This book has been taught in lit classes for years excellent but sad book. Michael B Vye

Rickman reading of Return of the Native:
Fantastic reading of the book. The first chapter is slow due to detailed writing of scenic attributes but once the plot unfolds it is riveting. It is easy to feel for the characters due to the unbelievable job that Alan Rickman does narrating the story, He has the proper voice inflections for each character to really project the appropriate emotions meant by the author. I have listened to book narrations before that have failed miserably at that important aspect and subsequently ruined the experience. Rickman is a master at it. Although it is fairly long, it did not detract at all as I listened to it on the way to work each day. I actually found myself wishing it were longer! I would highly recommend "reading" this via the audio book.

Good but nothing spectacular.:
Hardy is very good at descriptions. The language he uses makes the people and scenery come alive. While this is true I personally feel that I would have preferred to read other books over this one. A good book but nothing special.

Get the CD Version January 2007:
Get the CD version just out . When I had to read this book in High School I found it excruciatingly BORING. But Alan Rickman did such a good job, now I think this story is BETTER than Wuthering Heights. From AudioFile " The suffering that follows is mitigated somewhat by the ending, but more by the mastery of Alan Rickman's reading. At the start, Rickman senses the voice for each character in Hardy's fictional world, and he maintains each character's personality throughout. He even manages to project Hardy's subtle shadings of tone with the rhythm and tempo of his narration, throwing in a song here and there because, in spite of his gloom, there is a festive strain to Hardy, as well. If you have a hard time reading this classic English writer, this is how to do it. "P.E.F. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine. Yes and he can even do the womens voices without doing falsetto ! Rickman won the Best Talking Book or Talkie thing for this and deservedly so. I enjoy talking books and often use them as I drive long distances and this is the best one I have heard so far. I hope Alan Rickman , or another English actor, reads some more Thomas Hardy books for us in future.