Three Soldiers


Read by mb

(4.2 stars; 22 reviews)

Three Soldiers is a 1920 novel by the American writer and critic John Dos Passos. It is one of the key American war novels of the First World War, and remains a classic of the realist war novel genre. H.L. Mencken, then practicing primarily as an American literary critic, praised the book in the pages of the Smart Set. "Until Three Soldiers is forgotten and fancy achieves its inevitable victory over fact, no war story can be written in the United States without challenging comparison with it--and no story that is less meticulously true will stand up to it. At one blast it disposed of oceans of romance and blather. It changed the whole tone of American opinion about the war; it even changed the recollections of actual veterans of the war. They saw, no doubt, substantially what Dos Passos saw, but it took his bold realism to disentangle their recollections from the prevailing buncombe and sentimentality." (Summary from Wikipedia) (14 hr 38 min)

Chapters

Section 1 47:41 Read by mb
Section 2 39:19 Read by mb
Section 3 34:03 Read by mb
Section 4 1:00:53 Read by mb
Section 5 52:34 Read by mb
Section 6 47:14 Read by mb
Section 7 45:18 Read by mb
Section 8 46:03 Read by mb
Section 9 50:30 Read by mb
Section 10 38:22 Read by mb
Section 11 1:08:37 Read by mb
Section 12 1:09:34 Read by mb
Section 13 1:10:31 Read by mb
Section 14 52:00 Read by mb
Section 15 1:04:16 Read by mb
Section 16 32:21 Read by mb
Section 17 59:21 Read by mb

Reviews

it was ok


(3 stars)

The reader was OK. A little monotone but enough change in voice when doing dialogue between characters to make it acceptable. I listened to this book because Dos Passos was a friend and contemporary of F Scott Fitzgerald, and was, at the time, supposed to be as good as Fitzgerald. The book drags in spots but that is probably just my 21st-century impatients. The book is set in World War I France. But it is not about war it is more about being in the army and how the Army can suck the life out of you. I give it three stars because it just doesn't have the feel of a good book to a listener in 2016. But when new in 1920'S I'm sure people read it with a completely different understanding than they do today.

WoW


(5 stars)

When I started listening to this story, there was no summary on the page. I decided to try it blind without looking it up. What a powerful book. The summary makes it sound like a war story... well, yes & no. There's little direct description of combat or battles. It's about much more than war, raising many existential questions. The book is well written and the main characters are complex (like them or not). The reader, mb, does an excellent job, including many characters' American-accented French. (Her own French is quite good). Her style suits the book very well. 5 stars for the book 5 stars for the reader

Intriguing.


(5 stars)

I just started this book but it's wonderful so far. I love the characters and the reader, MB, has such a perfectly flowing voice. I feel this story will get me through work nicely. I'm usually a huge fantasy and horror genre reader/listener, but this genre is very intriguing. Well done, MB. I'll be looking up more of your performances. Makes me want to look up how to become a volunteer for this program. I enjoy listening so much to audiobooks that I'd love to give back to the community.


(5 stars)

This has been a great read/listen. It is sad to think that within 20 years WW2 would start. I come from a military family but never took up arms. In hindsight I’m very pleased this was the case. The torment and pain he went through are seldom experienced by the majority of people. This is a well written story and I am so pleased to have read it. JKF


(5 stars)

what incredible reading by mb! typically I really appreciate the extra dimension Librivox readers add to the written words but mb"s reading is so well done that all sense of narration disappears. how extraordinary to have the talent and devote the time and effort for others to experience this novel.

thanks


(0 stars)

Thanks for the kind review, but I feel strangely compelled to point out that I'm a he, not a she.

Excellent Book & Excellent Reader


(5 stars)

The reader brought the story to life. . Thank you !