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Upton SinclairThe Jungle (August 13, 2009)

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LibriVox recording of The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair. Read by Tom Weiss.

It is the end of the 19th century. Like thousands of others, the Rudkus family has emigrated from Lithuania to America in search of a better life. As they settle into the Packingtown neighborhood of Chicago, they find their dreams are unlikely to be realized. In fact, just the opposite is quite likely to occur. Jurgis, the main character of the novel, has brought his father Antanas, his fiancée Ona, her stepmother Teta Elzbieta, Teta Elzbieta's brother Jonas and her six children, and Ona's cousin Marija Berczynskas along. The family, naïve to the ways of Chicago, quickly falls prey to con men and makes a series of bad decisions that lead them into wretched poverty and terrible living conditions. All are forced to find jobs in dismal working conditions for their very survival. Jurgis, broken and discouraged, eventually finds solace in the American Socialist movement.

This novel was written during a period in American history when “Trusts” were formed by multiple corporations to establish monopolies that stifled competition and fixed prices. Unthinkable working conditions and unfair business practices were the norm. The Jungle’s author, Upton Sinclair, was an ardent Socialist of the time. Sinclair was commissioned by the “Appeal To Reason”, a Socialist journal of the period, to write a fictional expose on the working conditions of the immigrant laborers in the meat packing industry in Chicago. Going undercover, Sinclair spent seven weeks inside the meatpacking plants gathering details for his novel.

The Reader wishes to gratefully acknowledge the assistance, and patience, of Professor Giedrius Subacius (University of Illinois) and the folks at Lituanus (www.lituanus.org) for their invaluable support as I struggled with Lithuanian pronunciations. Truly, this audio book would have been far more difficult, and far less authentic, without their help.

And now, feel free to wander into The Jungle…….(Summary by Tom Weiss)

M4B audiobook of complete book


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This audio is part of the collection: The LibriVox Free Audiobook Collection
It also belongs to collections: Audio Books & Poetry; Community Audio

Artist/Composer: Upton Sinclair
Date: 2009-08-13
Source: Librivox recording of a public-domain text
Keywords: librivox; audiobook; literature; fiction; immigrant; socialism; labor

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: jtodd1973 - - February 26, 2011
Subject: A very good reading
Tom Weiss does a nice job throughout this reading. I was worried at first with the overly formal tone of the reading but quickly came to appreciate it; it works well for a book like this being almost entirely exposition.

Reviewer: Big Ron C - - September 1, 2010
Subject: The Jungle
This is great novel. It's a condemnation of the working conditions endured a hundred years ago before the advent of unions, worker's rights and decent labor legislation. It scares me to think that it might also be a vision of the future the way things have been going lately. When listening to this, remember, even though it's fiction, it's based entirely on fact. With that in mind be prepared for a gut wrenching emotional experience as Tom Weiss's marvelous, top-notch job with the reading really brings it all to life.