Discover Best Sellers Audiobooks in Fiction, Literary

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Title: Cracks

Author: Sheila Kohler

Narrator: Jeri Silverman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-22-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Now a major motion picture starring Eva Green and directed by Jordan Scott

A beautiful schoolgirl mysteriously disappears into the South African veld. Forty years later, 13 members of the missing girl's swimming team gather at their old boarding school for a reunion, and look back to the long, dry weeks leading to Fiamma's disappearance. As teenage memories and emotions resurface, the women relive the horror of a long-buried secret. A stunning and singular tale of the passion and tribalism of adolescence, Cracks lays bare the violence that lurks in the heart of even the most innocent.

Members Reviews:

Offbeat, and not for the faint of heart

Interestingly, nearly all the Amazon reviewers of this 1999 novel (including me), whether they liked it or hated it, agree that it's highly original and disturbing to the point of creepiness. Whether you will like it or not depends a great deal on your interest in anomie and an insistent eroticism (surely no book has ever contained as many mentions of "new breasts"!) that eventually turns dark and violent.

The story deals mostly with the collective memories of a dozen middle-aged women who are re-united at the South African boarding school they attended 40 years earlier. (Sheila Kohler, who grew up in South Africa, is at the top of her game in descriptions of the exotic flora and intensely oppressive heat of her native land.) All were members of the swim team, and were variously affected by the charismatic but emotionally careless coach, Miss G, and the ephemeral, highly attractive Fiamma, an Italian student who chooses not to fit in. This is not a spoiler, since it's revealed in the first few pages: Fiamma mysteriously disappears on a hot summer afternoon when the girls are about 13, and has never been heard from again. You will not find out what happened to her until the last few pages--and it isn't pretty.

I think this very odd novel must be viewed more as a dream or a poem than a standard narrative, which would explain why the people in it are presented almost as glimpses of the girls they were and the women they become, rather than full-fledged charachters with motivations and responses the reader can identify with. While I admired the ambition of this literary experiment, I can't say it made for a satisfying read. (Kohler is far more the master of her craft in her most recent novel, "Becoming Jane Eyre," a highly engaging truth-based but fictional imagining of Charlotte Bronte's life.)

As another reviewer has observed, it's difficult to believe that boarding-school girls in the 1950s would have had so little supervision, so much opportunity to wreak more than girlish mischief. But of course if you view this novel as a kind of dream, the rules of reality don't have to apply.

Great book - better than the movie!

I actually came to know this one because of the movie. I was expecting something different (the ending of the movie left me wanting more). Definitely got more than I thought, the book is haunting and well-written. It gets boring at times with descriptions, but it keeps you interested all the way.

Dark Yet Interesting Book

I saw the movie and I just had to read the book. It's a very dark story that dives into the world of sexual jealously among girls

Thrilling... perturbing

If you saw the movie...

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Title: The Elixir of Immortality

Author: Gabi Gleichmann

Narrator: Corey Snow

Format: Unabridged

Length: 20 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-03-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

A mesmerizing debut novel that spans a thousand years of European and Jewish history seen through the beguiling members of the Spinoza family.

Since the eleventh century, the Spinoza family has passed down, from father to son, a secret manuscript containing the recipe for immortality. Now, after thirty-six generations, the last descendant of this long and illustrious chain, Ari Spinoza, doesnt have a son to whom to entrust the manuscript. From his deathbed, he begins his narrative, hoping to save his lineage from oblivion.

Aris two main sources of his familys history are a trunk of yellowing documents inherited from his grandfather, and his great-uncle Fernandos tales that captivated him when he was a child. He chronicles the Spinozas involvement in some of Europes most formative cultural events with intertwining narratives that move through ages of tyranny, creativity, and social upheaval: Into medieval Portugal, Grand inquisitor Torquemadas Spain, Rembrandts Amsterdam, the French Revolution, Freuds Vienna, and the horrors of both world wars.

The Elixir of Immortality blends truth and fiction as it rewrites European history through comic, imaginative, scandalous, and tragic tales that prove the only thing that can possibly give human beings immortality on this earth: Our ability to remember.

Members Reviews:

A Major Journey Through The Past -- A MUST READ.

I was a bit at a loss when I realized how long this book was, but decided to give it a chance. It has been an amazing trip through several centuries and through the private history of a family (good and bad, mundane and shocking) and through the history of the world (so-called civilized society that we tend not to judge even though it was cruel, narrow, bigoted and hateful). There were moments that were heart-warming, others that were sad. I am so happy I stuck to it. I met some wonderful, intelligent, and thrilling people, and some that were "not-so-much". However I am glad I met them and I am left with new insights into the past that will give me thought for some time.

Historicity at its very best

This novel is the very best "inside history of a people" that I have ever read, and I've read thousands. The method used: development of family generational stories in a variety of cultures over many historical epochs takes the reader into the lives and times of the protagonists in intense, emotional, and intellectually believable ways. A book I will buy and give away to many friends!

Amazing and Unforgettable Book

Excellent book. Brilliant story line, emotional and dynamic characters, enjoyable to read. Definitely one of the best books I've ever read. Would recommend to anyone.

Elixir for a good read

I'm so amazed by the amount of research that seems to have gone into this book. Still reading it. Because of the sheer length, it starts to drag toward the end but, so far, I still find the story engrossing.

Great book

This was an enthralling and thought provoking book. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in history and psychology.

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Titel: Mirage

Autor:: Matt Ruff

Erzähler: Cathlen Gawlich, Simon Jäger

Format: Unabridged

Spieldauer: 14 hrs and 28 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 03-10-14

Herausgeber: Der Hörverlag

Kategorien: Fiction, Literary

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

Ein neues Meisterwerk von Matt Ruff: Am 9.11.2001 steuern christliche Fundamentalisten zwei Flugzeuge in die Türme des Welthandelszentrums von Bagdad, ein drittes ins arabische Verteidigungsministerium in Riad, während mutige Passagiere das vierte, für Mekka bestimmte, in der Wüste zum Absturz bringen. Die Supermacht sagt dem Terror daraufhin den Kampf an und besetzt die Ostküste von Amerika - Entwicklungsland und mutmaßliche Heimat der Terroristen. Acht Jahre später ist die Terrorgefahr nicht gebannt. Von einem verhafteten Selbstmordattentäter erfahren Mustafa, Samir und Amal, Bundesagenten für Innere Sicherheit, Unglaubliches...

©2012 / 2014 Matt Ruff / Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, München (P)2014 Der Hörverlag

Mitglieder Bewertungen:

A Very Good Read

This novel is an especially good one written by Helen Topping Miller. We are introduced to a distinguished family from Montevallo, Alabama whose fortunes still have not recovered from the devastation of the War Between the States. As a result, they head out West to Texas to try and make a decent living. Where they are faced with the reality that being someone of a good name isn't enough for survival in the wilds of Texas. However, will they bend their distinctive mores to blend in with their new surroundings or not? That is the main issue that drives the plot of the novel. The mindset of all the characters in this novel are so well developed that the reader really feels like they know all the members of the Channing family intimately. And their struggles really seem relevant even today. For we are presented with an unhappy marriage on the part of Harriet and the dilemma of Jeb as he struggles with his love for a wealthy girl in the form of Monty Summers and his admiration for the spunky and self-reliant Peggy MacGuire. Vicky is especially charming with her piano and singing skills. And we have the highly distinguished but sickly Dickson Channing and his subtly strong wife.

Five Stars

Very good !!!

Post civil war novel

I read this book and several more by Helen Topping Miller many years ago. I still reread them every so often as this author writes in a very appealing way about life down south following the American Civil War. This particular story takes a family from down south and has them move to Texas following the war. Ms. Miller always has a strong young heroine who does a lot of growing up during the story. Her women are often portrayed as strong individuals. I really liked all Helen Topping Miller's post civil war and Revolutionary war books.

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Title: Real Happy Family

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Caeli Wolfson Widger

Narrator: Amy McFadden

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-04-14

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 22 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Part-time actress, full-time party girl Lorelei Branch isnt famous yet, but shes perfected a Hollywood lifestyle full of clubbing, fashion, and the latest juice cleanse. When Robin, her sister-in-law and agent, throws a plum job her way, Lorelei jumps at the chance and auditions to be the new girl on televisions hottest reality show, Flos Studio.

Enter Colleen, Loreleis pill-popping mother, who wants nothing more than to see her daughter win the fame and glory she never had a chance to pursue herself. But Loreleis dream of becoming the next reality star is dashed when she loses the spot on Flos Studio to a stunning African woman. In an attempt to defend her daughter against what she calls a rigged contest, Colleen goes ballistic and delivers a racist rant on live television, sparking a national media frenzy. Lorelei flees the limelight, humiliated and broke, with her slacker boyfriend, Don, and heads for Reno, where she begins to self-destruct.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Branch family starts to come apart at the seams. Colleen and her husband, Carl, are quietly drifting away from each other. Darren, Loreleis older half-brother, is stuck in Florida working on a contentious film set while his wife, Robin, continues the tedious regimen of fertility drugs meant to help them conceive a child. Desperate to bring the family together again and make things right, Colleen hatches a plan to stage an intervention for Lorelei on the reality show Real Happy Family. Soon the entire Branch family is entangled in a mission to bring the prodigal daughter back into the fold.

Will Lorelei ever forgive Colleen? Will Real Happy Family air its most sensational intervention yet? All roads lead to a seedy Reno hotel room, where a reality TV crew is waiting.

Members Reviews:

Pleasant Surprise

When I first chose this book from the Kindle monthly free choices, I did so only because it seemed more interesting than the other three choices. I wasn't expecting a great read, especially considering the category was "Women's Fiction," I was expecting a cheesy, Oprah bookclub-esque sentimental bore. (No offense to anyone's preferences, my favorite author is Stephen King, so-called "women's fiction" has never been my cup of tea). It was a free read, so I figured what the heck, I can check it out. I am glad I did.

The characters are human and while we may not agree with their choices, we can understand their motivations. The world is clearly drawn and accessible. I found it amazing that this was a first novel. Thanks for a pleasant surprise, Amazon Prime!

"In Hollywood, reality show castoffs occupied the lowest caste in the industry."

I found this book to be a light, satisfying piece of guilty pleasure. Based on the reality television industry, much of the book is familiar territory. Still the characters have a complexity in their own motivations, and the writing is witty and breezy. In a loose constellation around Lorelei, the proberbial failed reality star, is a blended family of stage mother, step brother and his wife - Lorelei's agent, staunch father, and random Hollywood man slut.

The familiar themes of starvation diets, surface values, drugs, and sex are documented. I will say, however, that the drug dependence is thoughtfully portrayed. Al Anon's support for familie of addicts is faithfully written as part of the plot.

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Title: This Magnificent Desolation

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Thomas OMalley

Narrator: Jorjeana Marie

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-31-13

Publisher: Audible Studios for Bloomsbury

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Duncan's entire world is the orphanage where he lives, a solitary outpost on the open plains of northern Minnesota. Aged 10 in 1980, he has no memories of his life before now, but he has stories that he recites like prayers: the story of how his mother brought him here during the worst blizzard of the century; the story of how God spoke to him at his birth and gave him a special purpose. Duncan is sure that his mother is dead until the day she turns up to claim him. Maggie Bright, a soprano who was once the talent of her generation, now sings in a San Francisco bar through a haze of whisky cut with sharp regret. She often finishes up in the arms of Joshua McGreevey, a Vietnam vet who earns his living as part of a tunneling crew 70 feet beneath the Bay. He smells of sea silt and loam, as if he has been dredged from the deep bottom of the world - and his wounds run deep too. Thrown into this mysterious adult world, Duncan finds comfort in an ancient radio, from which tumble the voices of Apollo mission astronauts who never came home, and dreams of finding his real father. A heart-breaking, staggering, soaring novel, This Magnificent Desolation allows a child's perspective to illuminate a dark world, and explores the creeping devastation of war, the many facets of loneliness, the redemptive power of the imagination, and the possibility of a kind of grace.

Members Reviews:

Magnificent!!!

As a former high school English teacher and adjunct professor of literature, I don't award five stars easily. This is one of the best novels I have read in a long time. I agree with Mr Pendergrast's review and the Amazon blurb.

Although this is a wonderful read for those just interested in plot, this novel

deserves to be read several times to truly appreciate the artistry of the writing. The sensory images alone are magical.

Magnificent Indeed!

This is a dark, powerful read. So much unrest and sadness.

Desolate? Yes. Magnificent? Not so fast.

The story of either a boy in search of family or a family in search of itself: you decide. A quiet work, yet the near-whisper tone holds your attention for long stretches. I am struck, however, by the sense that this is one novel which may have been better served had it been published as two. The opening at the orphanage and the life of the mendicants and their charges created a rich atmosphere awash in shadow that resonated strongly with me. Certainly some fine, lyrical passages in the early going, but then the protagonist's mother shows up and what was some crisp, spare storytelling turns predictable, awkward, and occasionally mawkish. The ending felt forced, bored with itself, and I began to wonder whether the start and the finish did not come from two different writers.

In brief, a strong start, watery middle, and flat finish, but enough good things along the way to convince me that better work is bound to come from Thomas O'Malley.

very true to the title!

A beautifully written book with a sense of ethereal mysticism that is true to the title throughout . The author excellently describes the desolation of the landscapes and lives in which the characters reside .

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Title: Down to Bone

Author: Tobias Wolff

Narrator: Anthony Heald

Format: Unabridged

Length: 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-24-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

A son sits at his mother's deathbed, hesitant to leave her side. He leafs through one of her old photo albums, remembering her abusive, estranged father. When a visit to a funeral home turns into a conversation with a beautiful, mysterious woman, he develops a deeper - and perhaps darker - understanding of his relationship with his mother.

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Title: The Chain

Author: Tobias Wolff

Narrator: Anthony Heald

Format: Unabridged

Length: 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-19-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

When Gold's daughter is viciously attacked by a neighbor'sdog and barely escapes with her life, Gold's world is torn open. Haunted by the incident and unable to convince local authorities to take action, he agrees to a friend's offer of retaliation. When he feels compelled to return the favor,one bad turn leads to another - and this time, Gold finds the repercussions much worse than he ever could have anticipated.

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Title: Say Yes

Author: Tobias Wolff

Narrator: Anthony Heald

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-19-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Ann's friends envy her. None of their husbands even lift a finger to help with the household chores. Ann's husband is different, though. Then a simple hypothetical conversation while they wash and dry the dishes causes Ann to see her husband in a different light - and causes him to rethink the way two people can know each other.

Members Reviews:

As if.

Would you try another book written by Tobias Wolff or narrated by Anthony Heald?

No. A 10 minute story of a discussion about inter-racial marriage. The wife corners her hubby into saying he wouldn't have married her if she was black. That's it in 4 seconds. Write up promises more depth than that.

Has Say Yes put you off other books in this genre?

No,

You didnt love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The narrator was fine.

Any additional comments?

A very short story needs to be clever and engaging. This concludes with obvious fall out given the unlikely scenario.

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Titel: Die Pest

Autor:: Albert Camus

Erzähler: Ulrich Matthes

Format: Abridged

Spieldauer: 3 hrs and 11 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 11-26-13

Herausgeber: steinbach sprechende bücher

Bewertung: 5 von 5 von 2 Stimmen

Kategorien: Fiction, Literary

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

"Am Morgen des 16. April trat der Arzt Bernard Rieux aus seiner Wohnung und stolperte mitten auf dem Flur über eine tote Ratte." Die Pest ist ausgebrochen. Leidenschaftlich, aber mit wachsender Verzweiflung, tun Rieux und einige andere alles, um zu helfen.

©1998 Rowohlt (P)2013 Lindhardt og Ringhof

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Title: Postcards from the Past

Author: Marcia Willett

Narrator: Phyllida Nash

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-26-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 16 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Can you ever escapeyour family ties?

Siblings Billa and Ed share their beautiful, grand childhood home in rural Cornwall. Their lives are uncomplicated. With familyand friends nearby and their free and easy living arrangements, they are ascontent as can be.

But when postcards start arriving from a sinisterfigure they thought was well and truly in their pasts, old memories arestirred. Why is he contacting them now? And what has he been hiding all theseyears?

Members Reviews:

AS USUAL A WONDERFUL BOOK

This story is a continuation of "Christmas in Cornwall" with some new characters and

expansion of the story in the first book. As Always Marcia Willett's story is a gem. She resembles Rosamunde Pilcher in her writing style.

. So if you like Pilcher you will love Marcia Willett. I only wish there were MORE Marcia Willet novels available at Audible I would get every one

The narration was excellent. Perfect dictation made listening a pleasure.

Comfortably quaint

the thing I love the most about Marcia Willet is how she creates characters dimensional. Even the worse people are not all bad, there is always a gray area and some good to be found. Her books give me a warm and comfortable feeling just being in them.