Augusta

Perfect summer read

Revisado: 07-04-22

Easy to listen to. Real characters. Intriguing storylines. I was completely content and satisfied listening to and enjoying this book

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Narration felt "Off"

Revisado: 01-26-22

I have been looking forward to this book but found that the narration just felt "off". Barbara Havers sounded more "ditzy" less eccentric.

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Fun story but narration was disappointing

Revisado: 10-15-21

I enjoy these books as fun little escapes but this narrator was disappointing her “Darcy” was particularly sub par.

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esto le resultó útil a 13 personas

Deplorable Narration

Revisado: 06-28-21

The narration of this story completely ruins it. The voice of Maggie is either high whiny or low "I'm pretending I'm tough". I was so distracted by this I could't finish the audiobook.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Spy Thriller with Heart

Revisado: 01-09-16

First off, I need to say that the narration was fantastic and was a central reason I enjoyed this book so much. The emotions and personality of the book's characters would not have resonated as deeply. Hearing their voices made it so much more authentic. I think in written form some might have come of more as caricatures.

I'm not normally someone who enjoys the spy thriller genre but this one hooked me. The desire of one character to atone for a past incident and connect with a loved one was the strong thread that held this story together for me.

It was fast-paced, had a wide variety of characters and provided an interesting look at the ramifications of "the war on terror" and the US' interference in the Middle East. I did find the ending of the "thriller" part of the book a bit too easy. After seeing the lengths the CIA would go to in order to keep secrets, they (although backed up against the wall) seemed to agree to the terms without much argument. Was it because of the personal connection between the CIA director and other characters? Because it seemed that based on everything else in the book, they would not have stopped.

I also wish (because I always want people to be reunited in a heart-warming way) was sad that after all the "swimmer" had been through he did not get to know his daughter, and yet, that would have certainly been an unlikely outcome that would have taken away from the authenticity of the story.

I felt this book also worked because it was written and set in Sweden. I'm not sure it would have felt as true if written by an American. It would have felt more "hand wringing".

I recommend it.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

A Terrible Letdown

Revisado: 11-05-15

I have enjoyed this series and was looking forward to seeing how Lynley, Havers and Nkata were doing. Instead, I slogged through a l-o-n-g uninteresting story where they were merely bit players with no real growth or change. Nkata especially - who would be a fascinating character to get to know more of merely stated a few facts here and there. And the actual mystery - I hated it. The characters were annoying, immature, indecent and repetitive. A real disappointment.

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esto le resultó útil a 19 personas

Wasn't the Same without The Period Costumes

Revisado: 07-07-15

I think that Alexander McCall Smith did a great job of retelling this story, but I realized that part of what I loved about the book was the period setting. He was able to change the situations into comparable ones in the modern century, but it just wasn't as impactful. It was an amusing listen, but for me, it just didn't bring the enjoyment I had hoped for.

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esto le resultó útil a 7 personas

Narrator Makes the Story

Revisado: 07-07-15

Interesting book. I don't think I would have finished it, or enjoyed it if I had read it in print. The narrator of the audiobook was so good, it felt like I was listening to his long, interesting life stories. It ended satisfactorily, although I would love to read about his next fifteen lives.

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Unique and Intriguing

Revisado: 05-25-15

One suspects quickly that the hastily arranged marriage between the rural 18 year old Nella Oortman and merchant trader Johannes Brandt will not be a happy one. Why has Johannes married her, brought her to Amsterdam and then with some emotional cruelty deserts her, not only in travel, but in daily interactions.

Johannes does give Nella a beautiful cabinet, an adult size doll house which is a kind of a miniature of their home ostensibly intended to be used by a young woman to learn how to run a home. “The accuracy of the cabinet is eerie, as if the real house has been shrunk, its body sliced in two and its organs revealed.”

As secrets are revealed, Nellie continues to love, and grows in her devotion to her husband, despite their incompatibility. They slowly forge a friendship if not a marriage.

As Johannes travels and works to keep the family affluent and in good social standing, his sister Marin is Nella's only companion and is at turns cold, puzzling and aloof.

Meanwhile, Nellie tries to commission miniature pieces for the cabinet Johannes had given her, but she is never able to meet the miniaturist and the pieces that arrive sporadically but seem to indicate that the artist knows what is going on inside the house. They give a sense of foreboding. Are they clues of well-being or menacing harbingers.

The character of Nellie is inconstant - oscillating from naive and silly to wise with strong feminist insights.

There are unforeseen twists and turns and stunning revelations that move the story along in a compelling way and as the concealed becomes open to Marin, her choices will determine the outcome for them all.

Despite some unevenness in Nellie's character, this book is spellbinding read.

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Fascinating and with Heart

Revisado: 05-25-15

What a book. It captured my imagination, my heart, my fears, my hopes. Yes, it's another post-apocalyptic novel, but rather than simply focus on the mayhem, it follows a group of actors as they make their way across the country bringing Shakespeare theatrical productions to the small outposts of survivors who will welcome them. (Not all do.) As you get to know the characters in the troupe, the books moves between past and future - telling the stories of how they came to this group, what happened before the aclysmic event - all tying back to one central character, Arthur Leander - a well known actor who lived "before the event". There is beauty in the desire to keep theatre alive, there is love between characters, there is mystery, and there is fear for what could and does happen to the troupe as it moves through dangerous territory.

The author skillfully and surreptitiously manages to bring all the strands together in a way that is melancholy, imaginative and poignant.

I've recommended this book to everyone. Loved it!

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