Jack London: People of the Abyss

[Simon Webb]

I'm assuming everyone's read this but I have a librarian's urge to get everyone to read it if they haven't, & they're interested in JtR. London's descriptions of poverty in the East End are mind-blowing.

I'm currently finishing Severin, a novel about George Chapman as JtR & I had to stop myself serving up big helpings of Jack London throughout!

SW

[Ozzy]

I'm fond of audiobboks although a lot depends on who's reading it. The only audiobook version of PotA I know of is on the librivox site. Librivox provide free audiobboks which is possible, legally, as all the readings they have are works in the public domain.
Now with regards to what I said about audiobooks and who's narrating them most of the librivox audiobooks I've tried I've given up with after 5 minutes because I just couldn't get on with the reader's voice. However the voice of the reader of the librivox version of PotA I didn't mind at all.
So here's a link for anybody interested. You have a few download options. The chapters as separate mp3s or oggs. A zip of mp3s of all the chapters and if you're the type who buys Apple there's an m4b which, I think, is one file but with chapter metadata.

http://librivox.org/the-people-of-the-abyss-by-jack-london/

[Bailey]

Good deal! I love audiobooks, and I've had trouble finding a copy of POTA to read, so I'm downloading this now. With a long road trip coming up, this will be excellent.

[Ozzy]

Glad I could help Bailey. Hope you find it listenable (the voice of the narrator, Peter Yearsley, that is).
I've just been having a look myself at the other librivox audiobooks that he narrated. I'm going to try a couple.

[Bailey]

I've had a few from them that have been pretty decent - a nice reading of The Lodger by a woman a few years back, and a very good Tom Sawyer. Alas, Tom was followed by a very dubious Huck Finn - the narrator sounded like the very camp school counsellor from Family Guy

[JDow]

PotA is (or should be) required reading for anyone interested in the case. It's staggering to realise that London's book was written *after* the 'social changes' following the ripper crimes took place.

J