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This version is complete and unabridged. Translation by Brian Hooker. ( )

More like a 2.5 star book.

I liked how it started, with people of all sorts coming in to see a play. It was fun to think about the different types of people portrayed, and how over the centuries us humans don't really change that much. There's always the stuffy middle-agers taking themselves very seriously, the young fellas pulling pranks and acting out, the vain young men strutting around and provoking others. It's somehow sweet to see. All that happened during the acts in the theater was tops.

Then came the wooing, the main event. What an absolute snooze-fest. Cyrano's long-windedness, which is what Roxane loves most about him/Christian, is flat-out boring to this modern reader. We get it, she's hot and you have the feels, WRAP IT UP.

Then we are on the frontlines of a siege in the war between France and Spain. Here things perked up considerably. And that moment when Roxane's carriage rolls into camp - I about died! It was so unexpected and brilliant. This love triangle is brought to a head, but then with a little twist our author avoids the explosion. What what what?! So then does Roxane marry Cyrano to give us the happy ending, or does she marry the villain-whose-name-I-forget and break our hearts? OMG NEITHER. It is so perfectly done.

So the first and last acts were really good, but that middle dragged the whole thing down. I've got it at 2 stars right now, but as it percolates in my subconscious and conscious over the next few days I might bump it up. ( )

I think this reread (via the LATW website) was my 4th or 5th time. While I enjoyed it as always, this translation by Anthony Burgess wasn't the best one I have experienced. Or maybe it was the way the play was adapted... in any case, something about it was just not up to my expectations. However, the interview with Sue Lloyd, author of The Man Who Was Cyrano: A Life of Edmond Rostand, included at the conclusion of the play brings my rating up to 4.5*. I had no idea that Cyrano & Roxanne were historical figures from the 17th century! I had assumed that Rostand had made them up.

This recording has the following cast:
Caroline Aaron as Lise/Mother Marguerite
Hugo Armstrong as Le Bret
Kalen Harriman as Foodseller/Others
Gregory Itzin as Comte De Guiche
Hamish Linklater as Cyrano
Anna Mathias as Duenna/Others
Morgan Ritchie as Valvert/Bellerose/Others
Jason Ritter as Christian
André Sogliuzzo as Ragueneau/Ligniere/Others
Devon Sorvari as Roxane
Matthew Wolf as Cuigy/Others ( )

This is another classic I read in high school, while I was learning that I couldn't expect to understand everything about every book I tried to read. ( )