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A moving and powerful story

Revisado: 10-29-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

What an inspiring and moving story! And educational as well. Not too many people are familiar with the Red Orchestra and this true story sheds light on those brave German resistant fighters' lives. Knowing full well what awaited them if they went against the regime, they still risked everything in the name of freedom. What is particularly worth of admiration is that both Libertas and Harro came from well-to-do families and could have lived just fine under the Nazi regime, but they chose to fight for what is right instead and for that, they have my utmost admiration. This is the story that needed to be told. Thank you, heroes!

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esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

An unforgettable true story!

Revisado: 09-11-21

It's almost unbelievable that it's based on a true story but it is! I loved the psychological aspect of the story and appreciated it that the author left it an open question whether it was true love or a still-unnamed Stockholm syndrome. And of course, I loved the main message of the story: love is always stronger than hate and can change even the most calloused of people. We need more of it in our world today. A great story narrated by a really gifted narrator!

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Never forget. Never again.

Revisado: 08-16-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I'd never believe this was possible if I haven't seen Mala's and Edek's locks of hair on the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum's official site! Both of them were real-life heroes, helping their fellow inmates in any way they could and serving as inspiration for the Auschwitz resistance movement. Mala literally gave women clothes off her back and saved so many lives with her brave actions. The ending will have you in tears. The narrator did a fabulous job bringing characters to life. An incredible true story! Also, make sure not to skip the author's note on history at the very end - very eye-opening. This is one of those books that will stay with you for a very long time.

Never forget. Never again.

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esto le resultó útil a 8 personas

An unforgettable story!

Revisado: 01-03-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

This is one of those incredibly emotional and inspiring stories that will stay with you for a long time. Alma Rosé was a true heroine, fearless, resilient, and incredibly strong, who wasn't afraid to stand up to her oppressors in order to save the girls under her charge. When even looking at an SS man could earn one a ticket to the gas chamber, Alma stood up to the Angel of Death himself and such courage is truly worth admiration. The romance, even though fictionalized, provided a great insight into a work of the camp resistance through Miklós' eyes and also showed what a healthy relationship should look like - a partnership where both partners support each other no matter what in contrast with Alma's previous relationships where men abandoned her due to her Jewish heritage. Based on multiple testimonies of the Auschwitz orchestra survivors (make sure to listen to the note on history!), this story is one of self-sacrifice and resistance that everyone should read/listen to. Brilliant work is done by the narrator as well! Have your tissues ready though - you'll need them.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

"Berlin Calling"

Revisado: 01-03-21

“Berlin Calling” is a very interesting account of an American woman, Maggie, landing a job with the German radio right before the war and eventually becoming a voice of its propaganda but also, a spy for the OSS. Through Maggie’s eyes, we are shown the gradual disillusionment with the regime, the growing anxiety at the changes in former friends and lovers, the mounting fear for one’s life as the most outspoken colleagues begin to disappear and the rumors about mass exterminations begin to swell. The plot is fast-paced and full of intrigue; the leading heroine is wonderfully spunky and fearless; the atmosphere - brooding and charged with tension. The narrator also did a great job. If you’re a fan of historical fiction, I’d definitely recommend it.

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Four chilling novellas!

Revisado: 07-10-20

Four novellas from the king of horror that will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. My all-time favorite “Secret Window, Secret Garden” is among them (I actually liked the movie’s ending better - I felt it was more powerful) but the other three were just as creepy, charged with tension, and impossible to put down. A must-read (must-listen?) for all fans of the genre!

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Fascinating!

Revisado: 06-18-20

Stephen King has proved it once again that he is the king of horror. I listened to it as an audiobook and from the very first opening scenes, I had some major trouble hitting pause. In the end, I began to use this audiobook as a reward for completing the work I planned for the day and I must say, it was one hell of a motivation!

The story begins with a gruesome murder and public arrest and from there, the tension only keeps growing. Along with the lead detective, defense lawyer and the prosecutor I kept trying to find a logical explanation to the fact that the supposed murderer could not have possibly committed it as he was miles away at a convention where he was actually caught on film and yet it was his DNA and fingerprints that were found at the crime scene. But what if the only explanation, when every rational one doesn’t seem to fit, is supernatural? Can there indeed be an outsider, who lurks among us without us noticing and can assume any identity he likes to terrorize another quiet town?

The plot charged with suspense, the unforgettable characters, the resolution that will leave you speechless - I can go on and on about the things that made it such a riveting read, but I’ll just say, read it - you’ll thank me later. I seriously hope they’ll make it into a movie or a series. Absolutely fascinating!

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An eternal classic

Revisado: 04-06-20

A wonderful, immortal story beautifully narrated by Mr. Sandys. He truly made all characters come alive. Dark, haunting, romantic, and gothic - a true must-read that I would highly recommend to everyone.

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Brilliant!

Revisado: 01-16-20

I fell in love with “The Master and Margarita” ever since I first read it in my early teens and, having just re-read it (or, re-listened to it in an audio version, to be more precise - btw, the narrator did an absolutely fantastic job with it!), I realized that not only it is still my most favorite book ever, it’ll remain such for many more years to come. I read it (and listened to it) in its original Russian, and the first thing I have to mention is Bulgakov’s unparalleled ability to draw you in with his original storytelling and make you fall in love with the characters and get to know them so well, they eventually stop being “characters” but turn into close friends instead - Woland and co included.

Now, for the plot. Ah, the plot! It’s the most beautiful, tender, inspiring, and heart-wrenching love story ever written, with two lovers fighting against the world itself. Love stories such as Master’s and Margarita’s happen once in a million years, and when cruel fate separates the ones who belong together, the powerful forces themselves will appear on earth and wreak havoc on the whole city of Moscow just to ensure that the two lovers end up together. The power of the emotional attachment between our heroes is really hard to describe and you will have to read the novel for yourselves to know what I mean. One thing I promise, you’ll fall in love with them as well and will root for them till the very last page. “Love leaped out in front of us like a murderer in an alley leaping out of nowhere, and struck us both at once. As lightning strikes, as a Finnish knife strikes! She, by the way, insisted afterward that it wasn’t so, that we had, of course, loved each other for a long, long time, without knowing each other, never having seen each other…”

Woland and co. Enigmatic, powerful, cunning, and impossibly charming - all members of this… gang? Devil’s entourage? I’m not sure how to call them, but they’re indeed “part of that power which eternally wills evil and eternally works good.” As soon as they appear, the most inexplicable events start happening and all sorts of mischief cause troubles for the “respectable members of the society.” Only, the further you read, the less respectable such members appear, and the nobler our “evil-doers” turn out to be, and that’s the genius of Bulgakov’s storytelling - turning black into white and evil into good. Woland himself is a profoundly complex character and the more you get to know him, the more you start understanding his motives. “But would you kindly ponder this question: What would your good do if evil didn't exist, and what would the earth look like if all the shadows disappeared? After all, shadows are cast by things and people. Here is the shadow of my sword. But shadows also come from trees and living beings. Do you want to strip the earth of all trees and living things just because of your fantasy of enjoying naked light? You're stupid.”

And last but not least, is the setting itself. Moscow, having just recovered from the blood-shedding revolution and already turning back to its old ways of corruption, the desire of a good life, money, status - everything that shall never die no matter how many revolutions mankind puts itself through. Through the eyes of his characters, Bulgakov reveals all of these paradoxes - greed, cowardice, subserviency, manipulations - and places against them the idealistic writer who is a dreamer at heart and whose very life gets destroyed by all the pettiness and small-mindedness of the new Soviet society. The critics who destroy a magnificent novel just because it goes against their new policies, the literary society that has sold itself to the new powers - there’s no life for such a pure heart in this new world, and so, Woland must offer him and his beloved a new one.

I could write and write about everything that makes this novel such an unforgettable literary masterpiece - the novel within a novel, the most unforgettable characters, the setting that comes alive with every page - but you really should read it for yourselves to understand the beauty of it. An eternal classic, which I would highly recommend to everyone.

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Beyond Good and Evil

Revisado: 08-19-19

Nietzsche is one of my favorite philosophers and “Beyond Good and Evil” is definitely a fine work; however. Yes, there’s a big huge “however,” like it always is with his works for me. I do appreciate his ideas about the leaders and the doers; he, like no one else, can inspire a person to think bigger, to dream bigger, and to be something bigger. His somewhat Darwinistic views on the society, in which the strongest has all the right to be on top, are good but only to a certain extent. I personally feel like he lost himself a little in his arrogance and maximized the idea to the point where it borderlines on cruelty and propagates aggression towards anyone below the said “leaders of the world” in his hierarchy.

Points I agree with: yes. We should all strive to become something bigger and better and there’s nothing shameful about it. Yes, individualism is better than following the herd. Yes, morality can totally exist without religion and, as a matter of fact, religion often imposes a wrong type of morality on a person and is damaging to the development of a strong personality due to such restrictions.

Points I had major problems with: Nietzsche’s views on feminism are ridiculous beyond any comprehension. I actually laughed a few times as he was trying to drive his nonsensical point across but I suppose he gets a pass for this one since it was more or less a common view of feminism in that age. Sympathy for the weak/less fortunate etc by no means makes the strong person weaker; on the contrary, it shows the strength of the spirit, for who shall protect the weakest members of the society if not the strong? What Nietzsche calls for is basically eugenics and we all know what such views led to in Nazi Germany (yes, I’m pretty sure Hitler borrowed a few ideas from his works). The idea that “an ideal human” has no right to be sentimental and can only display violent, masculine emotions is much too damaging and again, we all saw how it ended for the new generation of Hitler’s “Teutonic Knights.”

Overall, if you disregard all the outdated 19th century Darwinistic and nationalistic views and concentrate on the inspirational parts, it’s definitely a work to keep by your side.

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