Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Story of Antigone
    Unavailable
    The Story of Antigone
    Unavailable
    The Story of Antigone
    Audiobook1 hour

    The Story of Antigone

    Written by Ali Smith

    Narrated by Ali Smith

    4/5

    ()

    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    "The crow crossed the sky, slow-beating her wings. Beat, beat, beat. It was night, not yet morning, and her feathers were so black that she coasted the air invisible above the city wall."
    Thus begins Ali Smith's retelling of Sophocles' tragedy, about a young Theban princess who decides to bury her dishonoured brother Polynices, against King Creon's express orders with heart-breaking consequences.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherW. F. Howes Ltd
    Release dateSep 4, 2014
    ISBN9781471272172
    Unavailable
    The Story of Antigone
    Author

    Ali Smith

    Ali Smith was born in Inverness in 1962. She studied at the University of Aberdeen and Newham College, Cambridge. Her first book, Free Love and Other Stories (1995) won the Saltire First Book of the Year award and a Scottish Arts Council Book Award. Her novel Autumn was shortlisted for the 2017 Man Booker. She lives in Cambridge.

    Related to The Story of Antigone

    Children's Classics For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Wind Feels Loss

      Aug 8, 2019

      The Wind Feels Loss
      7 min read

    • Article

      Second Language

      Aug 14, 2017

      Second Language
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Tiger Son A TALE FROM CHINA

      Jan 1, 2019

      The Tiger Son A TALE FROM CHINA
      3 min read

    • Article

      Red Kite Grey Shadow

      Nov 3, 2022

      Red Kite Grey Shadow
      6 min read

    • Article

      Sweet Fantasy

      Nov 20, 2021

      Sweet Fantasy
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Right Time

      Oct 14, 2019

      The Right Time
      5 min read

    • Article

      Wayétu Moore

      Jun 15, 2018

      Lai was hidden in the middle of forests when the Vai people found it. There was evidence of earlier townsmen there, as ends of stoneware and crushed diamonds were found scattered on hilltops in the unexpected company of domestic cats. But when the Va

      29 min read

    • Article

      To Save Arrhinsal

      Sep 1, 2021

      TOLIN CRAWLED FORWARD, staying alert. All around, the dense, wiry thickets of the hedge were strangely silent. That usually meant danger, when the green tangle of thorns should be cheery with the songs of finches, the dusky clucking of hedge hens. On

      8 min read

    • Article

      Every CLOUD

      Aug 31, 2022

      Every CLOUD
      6 min read

    • Article

      THE DUKE OF Edinbrough Hotel

      Nov 13, 2019

      THE DUKE OF Edinbrough Hotel
      6 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      Jul 1, 2019

      There is no difference between a murdererand a sip of wine. Delight is stoppingthe flow of blood. Let lifewilt on the hand. Let crystalsevaporate. Everyone finds his position,dead or alive. The poet is a craftsmanwho makes social balance possiblefor

      2 min read

    • Article

      “Really?”

      Jun 2, 2022

      “Really?”
      6 min read

    • Article

      Marco

      Mar 1, 2022

      THE ALLEY STANK . Marco could feel the damp soaking into his tunic as he pressed his back against the wall, trying to seem like part of the shadows. He cursed himself. How could he have been so stupid? He knew if he stayed out after dark they might f

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Red-Tailed Hawk

      Apr 4, 2023

      The spring of 1954 in the mountains of East Tennessee brought forth a renewal of life. I was 12 years old and given the responsibility of watching over a brood of newly hatched chicks. They were very important to our family. Once grown, we could eat,

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Girl Who Knew No Fear

      Jun 8, 2022

      The Girl Who Knew No Fear
      4 min read

    • Article

      Ira & the Whale

      Jun 14, 2022

      It is dark in the whale and hot. The air is difficult to breathe. Ira is coated in gunk, sweating in his black Speedo. The whale’s heartbeat booms and echoes like a giant drum. It’s intimidating. It sounds tribal, ritualistic, as Ira wades through th

      15 min read

    • Article

      Ghoulies and Ghosties

      Oct 1, 2022

      Ghoulies and Ghosties
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Ceaseless Murmuring of Innumerable Bees

      Mar 19, 2024

      Bzzzzzzzzzzzz … the humming the soughing the ceaseless the droning the sizzling the moaning the whirring the hissing the whizzing “murmuring of innumerable bees” “They forage with wit and dexterity”“they take the best from every flower”“they read the

      15 min read

    • Article

      Homecoming

      Sep 20, 2021

      Homecoming
      7 min read

    • Article

      Silence and Air Raids

      Nov 25, 2022

      Silence and Air Raids
      14 min read

    • Article

      The Letterbox

      Mar 1, 2019

      Dear Cricket, I like the way everybody says “Hey, every-buggy,” but I think I just want to say “Howdy!” I started reading Cricket about a year ago, so I’m still just a bit of a beginner and I don’t know Ladybug, Cricket, or all of the other bugs in t

      7 min read

    • Article

      Harde Manne

      Nov 18, 2022

      Harde Manne
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Story of Antigone

    4/5

    118 ratings6 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Absolutely memorable and beautifully written! The perspective is fresh, we are invited to discover the story of Antigone through the eyes of crows and stray dogs. The crow is the official narrator, thus giving us a hint about the tragic nature of the story.
      Ali Smith manages to make the reader smile, even if she recounts a classic tragedy: the choir of wise man reminded me of a group of cheerleaders, but experienced in political matters, sensitive to changes of rulers,despots and regimes.
      Antigone's attitude towards death is surprising from the beginning, in spite of her young age,she is accepting of death as part of the natural order and really not seeing it as something to fear, because it cannot be avoided. This is maybe one of her main sources of strength in face of despotism and abuse. She chose to act by following her conscience and the higher morality, instead of bowing herself to circumstances.
      Even if the king eventually tries to abort his decisions about her death, the dices have been thrown and the tragedy unfolds, as we know from the play of Sophocles: several characters die, Antigone, the king's son, the queen... death spreads quickly, as the crows are coming forward, as spectators of these tragic events...

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      It couldn't be more satisfying than this. I love Ali smith

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Excellent retelling of the old classic - playful and creative

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      What stood out most for me in this modern retelling of Sophocles' Antigone is how little we humans are. We consider ourselves powerful and able to chart courses in history, but we are mere flecks. And even an arrogant and powerful King is reduced to that. Reading this , especially in the times of COVID-19, makes this understanding all the more impactful. Antigone stood up.fpr what she though was right, and there are many rights , as opposed to the traditional way of thinking of just one right. The story emphasises the importance of diverse views. I love it that the crow is presented as a narrator, a narrator who could hardly care more about the characters, than that she gets a good lining for her nest! This is a story of loyalty. The crow scoffs at the loyalty of the dog and is proud of her own 'wildness'. Wouldn't Antigone also fall under that category? How does one decide who and what to be loyal to? There are so many facets to our life, and how can we fix the axis of loyalty?

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Excellent retelling of Antigone, a play that can seem a little distant to today in the wrong hands. Listened to the audiobook narrated rather wonderfully by Smith herself, crow caws and all.
    • 4/5
      I vividly remember reading Antigone at school and really liking it. In fact, I continued to seek out different variations of the story to see how authors throughout the ages have used the story and applied against their own time and circumstances.

      Ali Smith does not do this. She does not use the story and make it her own by adapting it to a modern setting or changing characters. However, AS manages to bring the original story home to a modern audience / readership. What I mean is that AS retells the original story - using the characters of a crow and a dog as narrators - but does not expect the reader to have any background knowledge of the story of Oedipus (Antigone's father) or indeed the customs of ancient Thebes.

      Highly recommended to anyone who wants to know more about the story but is put off by any of the outdated translations of Sophocles' work.