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Midnight Cowboy
- Narrated by: Michael Urie
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
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Summary
Midnight Cowboy is considered by many to be one of the best American novels published since World War II. The main story centers around Joe Buck, a naive but eager and ambitious young Texan, who decides to leave his dead-end job in search of a grand and glamorous life he believes he will find in New York City. But the city turns out to be a much more difficult place to negotiate than Joe could ever have imagined. He soon finds himself and his dreams compromised. Buck's fall from innocence and his relationship with the crippled street hustler Ratso Rizzo form the novel's emotional nucleus. This unlikely pairing of Ratso and Joe Buck is perhaps one of the most complex portraits of friendship in contemporary literature.
The focus on male friendship follows a strong path cut by Twain's Huck and Jim, Melville's Ishmael and Queequeg, Fitzgerald's Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby, and Kerouac's Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarity. Midnight Cowboy takes a well-deserved place among a group of distinguished American novels that write - often with unnerving candor - about those who live on the fringe of society.
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What listeners say about Midnight Cowboy
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- Amanda Lambert
- 08-09-19
Utterly brilliant in every respect.
Having just finished listening to this brilliant reading I feel so flat I am starting it again. Everything about the writing is brilliant but the delivery is a piece of magic. The voices all so pitch perfect on accent you can visualise the characters. The nuances with which the narrative develops Joe Buck's being is masterful and compelling. Its years since I saw the film and I don't remember it being as gripping as this. Just mindblowing, funny and sad .
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7 people found this helpful
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- JAN JULIUS PERERA
- 12-08-21
Not for me
Performance was good, I thought the narrator was good,
This book has not stood the test of time,
This is not no George Orwell, it’s slow boring, might have been good book when written but not now
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3 people found this helpful
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- Mister Peridot
- 06-10-23
Great film, Book hmm
As most will know the film is legendary, so it was interesting to listen to a reading of the book it was based on. The film is a faithful rendition but abridges or skips some lengthy passages that occur in the book. And I can see why this was done. Problem is the rather disagreable even poisonous characters that feature in these passages. Made worse in the reading due to the skilful realisation of these characters by the excellent narrator. Still the book is worth a listen, even if like I did, you skip over a few of these troublesome chapters yourself.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anna-Sophie Maria Cottis
- 17-11-21
Beautiful
Every now and then I find a book that stays with me, and this is one. It looks at the human condition from a funny, touching and beautiful way. It looks at some unglamorous, lost and more ‘real’ people, showing the depth of their character and experience. The narrator does a fantastic job of the characterisations. I loved it and wish I could experience it all over again for the first time.
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1 person found this helpful
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- David
- 13-02-21
Modern Classic
Absolutley brilliant. This is so well written I couldn't stop listening. It is touching, funny, gritty and real. I had a tear in my eye at the end of the book, I wish it didn't finish. I would have to agree that Hurlihy's book is one of the best written since WW2. MIchael Urie's reading and interpretation is one of the best out there, his voice alone is worth the listen alone, he definately is one of my favorite readers. This has been an absolute gem of a find for me - read it, you won't be disappointed.
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1 person found this helpful
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- malcolm gennis
- 13-02-24
Simply brillliant
||What can I say, most of us have watched the movie which does do the book justice... The audio version is superb, the narration is the best I' 've ever heard from an American novel. I have over 45 books in my audio library and this is in my top 5. Highly recommended.
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- Leona Merclova
- 06-12-23
Good classic American novel
It's a good, well written story. For some reason it didn't make me emotional at all though, not sure why. There were times when I was a little confused, not sure if it was the story or the narration that did it. I think the narrator muddles the voices a bit at times, it felt like there were kind of hollow moments that felt a bit random and unnecessary. Also Joe sounded somewhat like he had special needs, but not always...From his thoughts I had an impression of some personality disorder.Maybe I'm missing something? Will have to go and do some research.
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- James Brown
- 07-03-23
Not what I expected.
The film of the book deals with the final third. So I was treated to a story I thought I knew but didn't.
The narration is excellent and really brings the story alive.
Excellent :)
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- lucy costelloe
- 27-11-22
Thoughtful…
Not quite what I like expected but a good listen. A perspective on how a mind works.
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- Ms. L. Benjamin
- 27-10-22
Excellent
The excellent narration brought the book to life. I must go and watch the film again now.
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