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Story was good, but narration was terrible.

Revisado: 10-07-24

The story was pretty good, typical convoluted backstory and whodunit about an irrepressable young woman. But the narration was hard to listen to. The STyle of EMphaSizing So Many Syllables is grating. Makes it hard to know what's really important. The reader's accent is fine, just the rest of the delivery is hard to listen to.

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Alternate world history-the world without Christianity allows other religions and world views to dominate

Revisado: 10-01-24

I've read the book several times in 20 years - one of my favorites. Listening to it let me hear and realize things I hadn't caught before. I found a website that breaks down the characters as they reincarnate with names starting with the same letters. This time I saw more clearly how as a group they grew, while maintaining the basic personality of each one. I believed in reincarnation long before I read the book, and it's a fascinating demonstration of how one jati can grow. Plus, the history of the religions, and the way philosophy about the religions supplanted the actual religions is a masterclass. Highly reccommend!

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The grace of innocent people to accept their fate

Revisado: 09-23-24

The book was written a few years after I was born, and I grew up knowing nuclear war would be deadly. I was never interested in On the Beach for this reason. Recently I've listened to Neville Shute's other books so I figured What the heck. I was surprised at how good it is. I figured there would be bloody competition, but instead it's a well thought out story of how people could accept their inevitable deaths with grace, and stay honorable and true to themselves. The characters were real. They reminded me of the people I grew up around. It was a vastly different time, with fewer distractions - there's no mention even of TV. People weren't dramatic, just ordinary. I can see my dad wanting to make sure the garden was weeded and the lawn mowed.

What strikes me is how similar the story is to our times of climate crisis. The forces behind it are similar - industrial 'needs' vs governments at war. The people in the book had a pretty good idea of when their end would come, and how. On the other hand, we are watching the effects of climate change play out over the globe, on a timeline that seems to be speeding up. As in the book, some folks don't believe it's happening, while the rest of us wait for the next challenge and wonder why nothing meaningful is being done. With how much grace and honor will we accept?

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So many memories!

Revisado: 09-17-24

I read Blue Highways when it first came out, and it made me want to travel, and also informed my outlook. While listening to Here, There, Elsewhere I frequently had to stop and listen to sections again because something he said would send my mind back to a trip I took or an experience I had. Brought back things I had forgotten for years. Lovely experience.

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Good premise but too many subplots

Revisado: 09-16-24

I liked the idea of the story. After clearing out my parent's home and moving many times myself, it would have been great to have a place where people would 'look after' things that were sentimental but too good to throw away. But there were too many plot lines, which made the story long. I loved the part at the end about the violin, and discovered there's a real-world organization called Violins for Peace started by a violin maker in Tel Aviv. He and his son have refurbished more than 70 violins from concentration camps. They do concerts, and have several cities that have programs for violinist to play the violins to keep them in tone and the memory of their Jewish owners alive.

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The narration is terrible!

Revisado: 09-09-24

I couldn't even get through the first chapter. The narrator mangled the timing and pronunciation, and her accents were awful. The rich American friend with the Brooklyn accent made me turn it off. I enjoyed the first two books for the light stories and impeccable narration, so this one was a big disappointment. Guess I'll go on to #4 which has a better narrator.

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Sweet story after a tortured childhood

Revisado: 07-08-24

I'm a 75 year old lesbian who didn't come out until I was 50. My partner was 9 years older and had such bad experiences in her past she just couldn't face coming out and possibly losing her 3 kids. She married because that's what women did, but always knew she was lesbian. Her mom died and kids were grown, but we had to move across country before we found a community.

Every summer since we met we went to Provincetown, a gay mecca in Massachusetts, for vacation. Even though she felt better there, she was always vigilant about seeing people she worked with who just might be visiting. Her parents had instilled in her an understanding that homosexuality was wrong, and she seldom stopped looking over her shoulder for anyone who might tell them. Sadly, she never got over her inner homophonic.

This book brought so much of that back that I was in tears several times! Especially in the atmosphere in the US today. It's truly a sweet story.

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Fascinating historical view of Islamic science

Revisado: 04-20-24

I had heard snippets of the historical achievements of Islamic scientists, but this book brought them into context. It also shows, again, how Western-centered our history is. The author points out how we tend to appreciate the latest scientific discoveries and scientists, and forget the centuries of work and refinement that went before.

We didn't get where we are today because some genius shouted Eureka! when an idea hit fully formed. As the author points out, scientists are working with the knowledge of their time. For example, you can't really explain planetary movement if gravity hasn't been discovered.

It was fascinating to learn about the Islamic scientists who discovered and developed knowledge that has since been attributed to Western scientists, even to the development of the scientific method.

It's well worth a listen if you have an interest in science and/or history.

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Good portrayal of an autistic woman who makes a place for herself

Revisado: 12-19-23

Yes, the book isn't about an autistic woman. The story is fun and it's a good listen with an interesting historical background. The character of Jane stood out to me from the beginning. I'm an autistic woman who lived most of my life not knowing it, and relate so much to her! Autism was barely beginning to be understood when I was a kid in the 1950s, so Jane's people just thought she was thoughtless and quirky but a whiz at math and logic. I love the fact that she was still treated well by her 'family', and that she was seen as competent and able to run the business. Autism is so poorly understood so it's refreshing to see this character thrive without Autism being highlighted. Though I do wish that the author, if she realized she was writing an autistic character, would have noted that in the afterward.

I really liked the story, though sometimes I wanted to shout at the characters to figure out what was obvious. All in all, I enjoyed it.

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The writer has been reading my mail

Revisado: 12-03-23

I've never read something I identified with more. Different country, different pastimes, but so painfully similar to my life and old age. I almost stopped listening as it got too close, but I'm glad I finished.

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