Ella

Interesting premise

Revisado: 05-19-23

This book had 23,000 five star reviews. Couldn’t wait to get into it. No doubt the premise was very different. A beautiful connection between an aging cleaning lady and an octopus. Both needed help, both had a mutual respect and genuine fondness for each other. They gave each other the ultimate gift.

For me the book was meh. It was slow and a bit flat. Not a page turner in any way, but definitely sweet and heart-warming.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Lazy ending

Revisado: 06-16-21

The story starts out strong and fizzles at the end. Two main plot lines never have closure. What’s the point of setting up a plot, if you don’t give the reader satisfaction to see how it ends?

I enjoyed the story, the characters were engaging, the Jewish angle, very “Mrs. Maisel-ish”, but the author never finished the book. There’s an author’s note at the end saying that Florence was based on her relative, but that’s it. Can’t get into any real detail without adding spoilers. Had I known the main plot would never be dealt with, I never would have wasted a credit on this. Too bad, it had great potential.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

A different perspective

Revisado: 07-14-20

An important book, that looks at the Holocaust through a different lens.

The story flips back and forth between 2019 USA and 1940’s Poland. Often Holocaust books are written from the view of a Jewish survivor, however this story is written through the eyes of a Polish survivor. It is Bubcha, the grandmother who brings the past and present together.

The present day story mirrors difficult challenges and family dynamics in today’s world where working parents try to raise a family, where one child is autistic.

A story is filled with hope, love, triumph and selflessness, The Things We Cannot Say cuts through religion, culture and racism and proves that there are people who help and love just because it’s a basic human value.

There are so many lessons and feel good moments, the book had me sobbing at the end. Perhaps it’s because both of my parents were Holocaust survivors and I too am an author of a Holocaust book about my own mother.

Excellent read, highly recommended.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Forever in my heart

Revisado: 01-18-20

I’ve heard so much about the war in Syria, about its people fleeing, about countries including my own, Canada, opening its borders to bring in these refugees. I’ve also heard the outcry of so many who criticize our government for allowing these refugees to infiltrate our already challenged housing market, health care system and job situation.

So I decided to immerse myself in a personal story about a refugee family. The empathy gained from allowing a new family, suffering the ravages of civil war, into your soul goes a long way to dissecting politics and bringing it down to human decency.

The protagonists Nuri and Afra became my friends. I would have opened my home to them. Such gentle people, stuck in a circumstance beyond their control, where their homes, lives and son were ripped from their lives. They have no choice but to survive.

This book taught me how far an otherwise ordinary, gentle person can be pushed to the brink of despair to do things they never though they would, or could.

Being an author of a Holocaust book, the story of my own family’s survival of Hitler’s attempt at a “final solution”, played a huge part in why I needed to make this Syrian crisis personal. it was even more important to truly understand the plight of an entire country of people who suffered like my family did.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo, is one of those books that is now part of me. Nuri and Afra are forever a part of my soul.
Never again. Never forget.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

One of my favorite books

Revisado: 10-03-19

Great characters come alive with Edoardo’s convincing performance. Loved the Yiddish which added authenticity to the gangster milieu of that era. Character development was flawless offering likable people as well as an over abundance of villains all set in a good-guy bad-guy New York gangster shmata business when the crooked high powered unions took hold of that industry.

Family ties had a strong place in the plot, pinning criminals against friendships. It demonstrated well how money and power can control almost anyone. But there’s always one hero, one man who brings integrity and morality to the story.

Highly recommended.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Completely satisfying

Revisado: 03-17-18

It’s not often that I give a book five stars. This timely story puts a human face to immigration in America.
The narrator was among the best I’ve heard and added a depth to the story that the average reader will not experience. Highly recommended.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

I didn't cry, but most do

Revisado: 12-04-14

Good book, deals with emotional struggles of a young quadriplegic victim of an accident and his struggle with the meaning of life. Was his condition now considered a life he had envisioned for himself? Family and strangers must watch his struggle and attempt to show him that the chair which now imprisons him is not what defines him, but do they have that right?

A book about life, love, struggle and strength, Me Before You is an interesting and easy read. Not sure why it didn't move me to tears like it does 90% of the readers/listeners. But to be on the safe side, keep that tissue box handy.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

5-Star Thriller with History and Heart

Revisado: 11-22-14

At a fundraiser, Ben Solomon a holocaust survivor, walks up to Elliot Rosenzweig, a well-know Chicago businessman and philanthropist, and clocks him right in the jaw, all the while accusing Rosenzweig of being an ex S.S. Nazi Officer by the name of Otto Piatek. A shocked Rosenzweig, concerned for this man's sanity and his own reputation, rolls up his sleeve to reveal the tattooed identification numbers of the Auschwitz Death Camp. And so the tale begins between these two men. A legal thriller, Ben sets out to prove his accusations, while Elliot needs to prove Ben's lying.

Much of the book is filled with Ben telling his story to Catherine Lockhart, a young busy lawyer. Ben wants to convince her to take his case of stolen property from all those years ago. Catherine, is skeptical that there is any tangible evidence after all this time, but after much persuasion she allows Ben to tell his story. Ben takes no short cuts, beginning with growing up in Zamosc, Poland explaining how his life entwines with Otto Piatek right through the war. But are Otto and Elliot one in the same?

Being the daughter of 2 Holocaust survivors, I have listened to my share of Holocaust novels, in fact I've even written one, but Once We Were Brothers has to be one of the best books I've come across.

Fred Berman did an incredible job narrating this book. His performance brought the characters to life. It's almost a week since I finished Once We Were Brothers and I can't stop thinking about it. It would be a shame to miss this one.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 94 personas

13 not a lucky number for Silva

Revisado: 11-07-13

I read almost every Silva book and this one was weak in plot, characters and suspense. George Guidall did a fine job with the narration as usual, but this one fizzled and died for me.

The plot revolves around a kidnapped woman and what happens to her and why. The "what" is predictable and the "why" is lame.

Not even a good filler book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

Ruined by narrators

Revisado: 08-19-13

I was so looking forward to this book. I loved both Hosseini's previous books. He was his own narrator on the Kite Runner and did a really good job, but this book was totally ruined by the readers. It doesn't happen often, but once in a while I have to admit to preferring reading over listening and this is one of those times. Sorry folks, can't agree on the high ratings on this one.
I'm sure once I let a little time pass, purchase the actual book and read it, my review on Amazon will be much different.
Hosseini only narrates one of the chapters, the rest are read by a man who sounds like he has marbles in his mouth and an accent too strong to be narrating and a woman with a raspy monotone voice.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 46 personas