2024 Dopisy Otce Vanoc (Otakar Brousek Jr)

Letters From Father Christmas

Release Date: 2024.05.16
Reader: Otakar Brousek Jr
Language: Czech
Translators: Stanislava Pošustová and Vít Penkala
Organisation: Tympanum
EAN: 8595693460719
Duration: 2 hour 32 minutes
Unabridged: Yes
Country: Czech Republic
Licenced: Yes
Formats: Digital

Otakar Brousek Jr is a respected voice actor in the Czech Republic. He is known for a voice that is both warm and technically precise. In this reading, he takes on the role of the narrator/Father Christmas with a “laskavost” (kindness) that reviewers have compared to the storytelling style of Hans Christian Andersen.

The recording is based on the updated 2023 Argo edition, which is widely considered the definitive Czech text. Stanislava Pošustová was also responsible for the well regarded translation of The Lord of the Rings. The recording is based on the updated 2023 Argo edition, which is widely considered the definitive Czech text. Vít Penkala contributed the translation for the additional materials and later letters included in the 2009/2023 “Complete” editions.

The audiobook is unabridged and follows the chronological evolution of the letters from 1920 to 1943. The tracklist is organized as follows:

  • Introduction & Preface: Historical context about Tolkien’s family.
  • 1920–1928: The early, shorter letters.
  • 1929–1932: The introduction of the “Great Polar Bear” and more elaborate mishaps.
  • 1933–1937: The stories become more “epic,” featuring battles with Goblins and the introduction of the Elf secretary, Ilbereth.
  • 1938–1943: The later, more poignant letters written during the onset of World War II.