Reviews

The Story of my Life Vol. 1 The Venetian Years by Giacomo Casanova

fifi99's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny informative lighthearted slow-paced

3.0

gwenythlove's review against another edition

3.0

The only thing I really liked was Benedict's charming voice as he read this. Casanova was a pompous player who only ever played at love but really knew nothing about it. I am glad this was only abridged because I couldn't take much more of him (however I would have put up with it just to listen to more Benedict Cumberbatch...now off to see if I can find him reading something more enjoyable!)

ibm's review against another edition

medium-paced

1.5

bookish_ann's review against another edition

1.0

Nope, nope, a whole lotta NOPE.
I thought that this would be romantic and a little spicy. Casanova is synonymous with seduction, right? Yeaaaah, he’s a rapist. Good times.
At first, his exploits are simple threesomes with hot sisters. But when he does not get what he wants, he’s nasty and violent. Yet he thinks all of his victims were happy to please him. Coercion is not consent. AAAAGGGHHHHHH.
There’s just so much wrong in this, SO MUCH. But what is truly appalling is how our culture turned this STI-addled narcissist into a romantic hero. The audiobook is gorgeous and sensual…. Cumberbatch has a voice, but eeeewwww, nooooooooooo. Use your powers for good, Benny. Ew.
The audiobook is also very abridged; unfortunately they don’t cut out the worst parts. But they did chop out a whole exorcism!

naynayreads's review against another edition

3.0

So lets be honest the only reason I bought this is because I enjoy being read to by Benedict Cumberbatch. And geez can he make a somewhat tedious book enjoyable. I don't really know what to say about the book itself, Casanova was a pig and most likely a liar. The book ends abruptly like there is supposed to be a next part that doesn't exist. I wouldn't read this if it wasn't a audio book and I wouldn't have even bothered with that if it wasn't narrated by Benny.

arielkirst's review against another edition

2.0

I loved listening to Benedict Cumberbatch reading the story, but I found the words themselves to be rather dull.

kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition

4.0

This diary of Casanova during his Venetian Years is read by Benedict Cumberbatch. It actually is surprising good because it sounds like Cumberbatch is having a laugh with you via Casanova’s diary.


Crossposted at Booklikes

rclbrooklyn's review against another edition

5.0

The ultimate romance adventure, Casanova's exploits are beautifully remembered. I listened to Benedict Cumberbatch tell this story on Audible. Pure pleasure!

secrethistory's review against another edition

4.0

I have this shelved as nonfiction--it is a memoir--but it might as well be fiction, because I hardly believe a word of it. It comes off as an extremely unreliable narrator bragging. That being said, it was very entertaining, if not plausible, and I enjoyed it greatly. The narration by Benedict Cumberbatch is fantastic, and perfect for the part. I wish he would narrate more parts of the memoirs, because no other voice will ever be Casanova to me.

Those of you who prefer your characters likeable, do yourselves a favor and look elsewhere. This man promised marriage to a number of women and left, justifying it to himself as a favor (it was, but not for the reasons he thinks), and he dug up a corpse and cut off its arm for a practical joke, if indeed you believe him.

My only real complaint about the audiobook itself is that it's heavily abridged. Then again, I'm not sure my enjoyment of the book would have lasted any longer. You can listen to someone brag about their sexual exploits, but after a while it does get tedious. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about the infamous man, but not enough to read the thousands of pages to be found in his memoirs. This, I would think, tells you all you need to know, and with a wonderful narration.

subtle_sarcasm's review against another edition

2.0

Eh, this just wasn't for me. One star (or possibly both) is purely for Benedict Cumberbatch's lovely lovely voice, aka my only reason for even finishing this thing.