2008 Hobbiten (Jan Waldekranz)

The Hobbit

Release Date: 2008.03.05
Readers: Jan Waldekranz
Language: Swedish
Translator: Erik Andersson
Organisation: © 2008 Norstedts
ISBN: 9789173134156, 9789113046792
Duration: 10 hours 47 minutes
Unabridged: Yes
Country: Sweden
Licenced: Yes
Formats: CD, MP3-CD, Digital

Jan Waldekranz (born 1952) is an accomplished actor with the Royal Dramatic Theatre (Dramaten) in Stockholm. He brings a sophisticated, theatrical “Dramaten-style” gravity to the reading. His voice is deep and resonant, but he is more focused on the linguistic precision of the new translation than on over-acting the characters. Waldekranz also recorded the 2006 version of Ringarnas Herre (The Lord of the Rings), ensuring that Swedish listeners have a consistent voice across the entire new translations.

It is the audio debut of the newer, more accurate Swedish translation. In the older version, “Baggins” was Bagger. This uses the new name: Secker. Rivendell (previously Vattnadal) became Riftedal. Unlike the “Saga-style” of the older version, this translation (and Waldekranz’s delivery) follows Tolkien’s own instructions much more closely, resulting in a text that is tighter, more direct, and less prone to the flowery embellishments.