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A House-Boat on the Styx

Gelesen von LibriVox Volunteers

(4,372 Sterne; 47 Bewertungen)

The premise of the book is that everyone who has ever died (up until the time in which the book is set, which seems to be about the time of its publication) has gone to Styx. This does not appear to be the conventional Hell described by Dante in The Inferno, but rather the Hades described in Greek myth (both of which had Styxes): a universal collecting pot for dead souls, regardless of their deeds in life.

The book begins with Charon, ferryman of the Styx (in The Inferno, he was the ferryman of the river Acheron) being startled—and annoyed—by the arrival of a house boat on the Styx. At first afraid that the boat will put him out of business, he later finds out that he is actually to be appointed the boat's janitor.

What follows are eleven more stories (for a total of twelve) which are set on the house boat. There is no central theme, and the purpose of the book appears to be as a literary thought experiment to see what would happen if various famous dead people were put in the same room with each other. Each chapter is a short story featuring various souls from history and mythology. (Wikipedia) (2 hr 54 min)

Chapters

01 - Charon Makes a Discovery

13:25

Read by Zachary Brewster-Geisz

02 - A Disputed Authorship

11:59

Read by Zachary Brewster-Geisz

03 - Washington Gives a Dinner

16:11

Read by Zachary Brewster-Geisz

04 - Hamlet Makes a Suggestion

13:11

Read by Zachary Brewster-Geisz

05 - The House Committee Discuss the Poets

12:51

Read by Zachary Brewster-Geisz

06 - Some Theories, Darwinian and Otherwise

14:15

Read by Zachary Brewster-Geisz

07 - A Discussion as to Ladies' Day

13:15

Read by Zachary Brewster-Geisz

08 - A Discontented Shade

16:57

Read by David Federman

09 - As to Cookery and Sculpture

15:18

Read by GerryR

10 - Story-tellers' Night

16:09

Read by Philippa

11 - As to Saurians and Others

17:01

Read by Ruth Golding

12 - The House-Boat Disappears

13:45

Read by James Christopher

Bewertungen

A sequel to the enchanted typewriter.. excellent read.

(5 Sterne)

This book expands on the characters and themes first introduced by Boswell in The Enchanted Typewriter. Hilariously funny and well written. The characters are entirely realistic, and feature some historical celebrities. A very amusing read for anybody who enjoys a bit of farce, and can inhabit the authors world of imagination. Once again the reader has done a wonderful job of bringing this text to life with an expressive voice.

A House-Boat on the Styx

(5 Sterne)

Wonderfully Entertaining!!! Great Readings by all Volunteers. Thoroughly Enjoyable.

splendid

(5 Sterne)

What a witty set of stories. It has aged very well.

One of the best

(5 Sterne)

Witty and well written. Excellent reading.

Love It!

(5 Sterne)

This is basically a series of humorous sketches or cartoons drawn with words. Personally, I found it delightful, and as I was listening on headphones while cleaning house, more than once my husband asked why I was laughing so hard. The more you enjoy a broad spectrum of literature, the more you will appreciate the concept. No question this work influenced Farmer's Riverworld series.

A House-Boat on the Styx

(5 Sterne)

Well read. Fun story with histories who's who in a tongue and cheek plot(s). Very enjoyable!!! Thanks

wow guys!

(5 Sterne)

What a fantastic and fun book. So many characters so many pieces of history. Such fantastic narrator!

(2 Sterne)

Not what I expected. Not bad, just not my cup of tea.