OYENTE

Elizabeth Ratner

  • 81
  • opiniones
  • 17
  • votos útiles
  • 87
  • calificaciones

Compelling story of sister who doesn’t give up told against the backdrop of the gritty underside of a Philadelphia suburb

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-09-25

The 2 women at the heart of this novel have not had an easy life. Raised by their grandmother after the death of their mother to a drug overdose, one becomes an addict while the other becomes a police woman on a mission to find the killer of down and out young women, all while raising a son and searching for her sister. A compelling listen.

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Provides deep and disturbing understanding of slavery

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-22-25

I have to think that listening to this book, with its expert narrator, takes the story to a new level. I highly recommend this listen!

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Perfection!

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 02-09-25

Until this profoundly beautiful novel, the prequel - Count the Ways - was one of my all time favorite books. It is possible that When the Light Gets In is even better. Joyce Maynard presents an inspirational, yet human, mother in the character of Eleanor. As in Count the Ways, Eleanor is a creative, loving mother with talents ranging from canning tomatoes and making spaghetti Carbonara to writing and illustrating children’s books all while energetically raising her 3 children who are adults in this novel. There is a daughter who is estranged from Eleanor, a son who was brain injured in childhood, and a brilliant and kind transgender son. There is a love affair with a narcissistic climate activist who cannot accept that, at her core, Eleanor is a mother. I was in awe of this mother. Her sweet son, Toby, has a large role in the story. For this I was so grateful as he is a purely good soul. The story is read with perfect sensitivity by the author herself. This usually worries me as such narrations often strike me as inherently arrogant. Not so with Joyce Maynard. She could be a trained narrator of Audible books! My only complaint- and it was somewhat substantial until I was more fully immersed — was the amount of time spent catching the reader/listener up on all that occurred in the prequel. So don’t listen to When the Light Gets In until a period of time has passed since finishing Count the Ways. Eventually, though, I was so in love with this beautiful book and its characters that I wanted it to never end.

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Various perspectives of loss in a midwestern family

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-22-25

The first 3rd or so of the book developed slowly for me so that I considered stopping my listen. This is the reason I’ve given it 4 stars rather than 5. I am glad I stuck with it as the importance of each character and how they were interwoven became much clearer. I loved the 2 adolescent brothers - one of whom was narrating decades later as a much older person. And the mother’s rejection of her minister husband’s piety was at once heartbreaking and, in my opinion, refreshing!

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A fascinating look at the lives of American expats in Saigon in the years leading to the Vietnam War

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-08-25

The central focus of this beautifully written and narrated novel is the lives of two American women who spent a year or two together in Saigon in the early 60’s. The world of expats in an exotic and troubled country as well as the role of American wives are explored and then looked back on decades later. What became of these women and their loved ones was largely influenced by that period of time in Saigon. The only negative, in my opinion, was the digression at times to include Stella, a college friend of one of the book’s heroines. This was a superfluous distraction to the core message of the book.

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Good twists

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-17-24

At first, I was not sure about this book as I thought it was going to devolve into horror. Instead, it was a psychological thriller that was quite compelling. I’m not ready yet (or maybe ever) to listen to the sequel, but I will definitely listen to another Frieda McFadden novel.

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Suspenseful but not frightening

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-05-24

The story was interesting but also a bit convoluted. I felt that the male narrator’s voice was a bit too sinister. Nice love story at the heart of this.

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Compelling story about the art world

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 10-13-24

Great listen that tells the story of art copies that become forgeries. As with her book, The Boys’ Club, Erica Katz introduces a world of private planes, lush apartments and, in this case, world class art galleries. My only issue with this great listen is the ending - too tidy considering all that has occurred.

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Trite

Total
1 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
1 out of 5 stars
Historia
1 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 09-25-24

I have abandoned this book. Story is so predictable and the narration is over the top ridiculous. I listened for a couple of hours but simply could not continue.

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A mother-daughter story in more ways than one

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 09-20-24

This is another story of a teenage mother forced to give up her child. This occurred in the mid-60’s which was pre Roe v Wade but is not relevant anyway as it takes place in Ireland. I’ve read and listened to some similar stories in the last few years. Including this one, they have all been somewhat interesting but the redundancy of the similar plot lines has gotten a bit tiresome for me. Thus the 4 star review. A nasty mother-in-law and an unsympathetic birth father/husband did add some spice.

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