Martin Eden

17 hrs. 5 min.

Classics

Language Russian

Author Jack London

Narrator Ivan Litvinov

Description

“The Strongest Survive” is the motto of the protagonist of Jack London’s autobiographical novel “Martin Eden.” Rough and unpolished, but extremely strong and driven, a young man makes his way from the bottom to the top for the sake of his love for a woman—an ordinary, uneducated sailor becomes a famous writer. This is a piercing story of a man who despised the values of consumer society, yet sold his soul in an attempt to conquer success within that very society. A tale of how the notorious “American dream” comes true—and what it costs.

“…He read about himself in magazines, studied the photographs of himself printed there, and by the end it began to seem that even his face wasn’t his. He was the guy who lived—who trembled with delight and loved; he was carefree, easily endured all sorts of troubles, and forgave others their sins; he served as an ordinary sailor, sailed to strange faraway places, and led his friends in fights from years gone by. He was the guy who initially was stunned by the thousands of books in a free library—and then learned to read them and conquer them; the guy who didn’t turn off the light until midnight, jumped up at the alarm, and wrote books himself. But—this ridiculous glutton who’s being stuffed by grand banquets with the common people—that wasn’t him.”