Download Best Sellers Audiobooks in Fiction, Literary

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Title: The Promised World

Author: Lisa Tucker

Narrator: Tanya Eby

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-01-09

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

"Suicide by police" was obviously Billy's intended result, but the aftermath of his death brings shock after shock for Lila when she discovers that her twin - the person she thought she was closer to than anyone in the world - was not only estranged from his wife, but also charged with endangering the life of his middle child and namesake, eight-year-old William.

Lila's quest for answers puts her job, her marriage, and even her sanity at risk as she begins to learn the horrible truth about her family.

When Billy's children are in danger of repeating the twins' tragic past, all of the characters will have to confront their own complicity and recognize the deep guilt that always tortured Billy even as he spun a beautiful dream of the future from the stories he loved - a classic American myth of redemption and second chances.

The Promised World is an epic tale of intimacy, betrayal, and lost innocence that will haunt listeners long after they hear the final words.

Critic Reviews:

"A masterfully told story that delves deep into the human psyche and examines the frailty of the human mind after a tragedy and the powerful, lifelong impact of childhood memories." (Booklist)

"Engrossing and suspenseful, Tucker's remarkable fourth novel unveils the motives behind the curious behavior and superfluous lies of unusually close-knit fraternal twins...[a] satisfying, imminently readable novel." (Publishers Weekly)

"A compulsively readable story...nothing is as it appears in this suspenseful, well-crafted look at truth and betrayal...a haunting, harrowing story." (Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

Good character development

I remain confused about the blurb on the book itself because it seems to me to be more about everyone connected to the mail twin Billy, not only his sister Lila. Yes, she is terribly disoriented by his death but mostly her character seems to be unconscious or sleeping. She finally takes hold of her life in the last third of the book, figuring out who lied, who's on her side etc. Don't want to give away anything. Lisa Tucker built the tension very craftily - made me think of 'Rashomon' where everyone sees something different. I don't mean its totally like that book, but Tucker does give all sides of the story which I really liked. At the end of one section you think you have figured out 'whodunit' but two pages later you find out you're completely wrong. I love a mystery that isn't easy to solve. Good story telling, terrific character development and very evocative description. Highly enjoyable, fascinating mystery, and hard to put down.

Don't Miss This One

This was a spellbinding read. It was a fascinating study in how sincere love can become all consuming, leaving no room to breathe. Telling the story from each character's viewpoint past and present was surprisingly effective. It's by far my favorite of Lisa Tucker's books and I have enjoyed them all.

HORRIBLE...

The description on the back of the book did NOT match the storyline at all. There were too many unknowns and unanswereds in this story. Nothing seemed to mesh and I spent most of my time in a printed tennis match....back and forth with no correlation between chapters. DO NOT READ. I always finish books no matter how horrible, but this is one that I did not.

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Titel: Doppler

Autor:: Erlend Loe

Erzähler: Andreas Fröhlich

Format: Unabridged

Spieldauer: 4 hrs and 12 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 04-03-09

Herausgeber: Lauscherlounge

Kategorien: Fiction, Literary

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

Andreas Doppler, 40 Jahre alt, Familienvater und erfolgreicher Geschäftsmann, kommt nach einem Sturz vom Fahrrad zu der Erkenntnis, dass er sein wohl geordnetes, tüchtiges Leben satt hat - und so zieht er in den Wald. Sein bester Freund wird ein Elchkalb, doch ab und zu muss Doppler in die Stadt, um Magermilch zu besorgen, nach der er süchtig ist. Seine Besuche bleiben nicht folgenlos, denn schon bald finden weitere Menschen Gefallen an Dopplers Lebensweise...

(c)+(p) 2009 Lauscherlounge Records

Kritik Bewertungen:

Deutscher Hörbuchpreis 2010 in der Kategorie "Bester Interpret"

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Title: The Piano Teacher

Author: Janice Y. K. Lee

Narrator: Orlagh Cassidy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-13-09

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 230 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

In the sweeping tradition of The English Patient, a gripping tale of love and betrayal set in war-torn Hong Kong.

In 1942, Will Truesdale, an Englishman newly arrived in Hong Kong, falls headlong into a passionate relationship with Trudy Liang, a beautiful Eurasian socialite. But their love affair is soon threatened by the invasion of the Japanese as World War II overwhelms their part of the world. Will is sent to an internment camp, where he and other foreigners struggle daily for survival.

Meanwhile, Trudy remains outside, forced to form dangerous alliances with the Japanese - in particular, the malevolent head of the gendarmerie, whose desperate attempts to locate a priceless collection of Chinese art lead to a chain of terrible betrayals.

Ten years later, Claire Pendleton comes to Hong Kong and is hired by the wealthy Chen family as their daughters piano teacher. A provincial English newlywed, Claire is seduced by the heady social life of the expatriate community. At one of its elegant cocktail parties, she meets Will, to whom she is instantly attracted - but as their affair intensifies, Claire discovers that Wills enigmatic persona hides a devastating past. As she begins to understand the true nature of the world she has entered, and long-buried secrets start to emerge, Claire learns that sometimes the price of survival is love.

Members Reviews:

Wonderful, and the narrator a jewel

I'm dismayed to see such vicious reviews about this book and its audio production. Although I've been an audible.com member for over 5 years, this is the first time I've been moved to write a review - for good or ill. And before getting started, I thought I'd read the two reviews before me. Is it possible they listened to the same book????

I found this story to be completely engrossing, with such richly drawn characters and an introduction to a world I knew nothing about. I was captured completely, pretty much to the exclusion of everything else going on in my life. (Thankfully it's the holidays so nothing much is being expected of me right now.)

And the narrator, I thought, was absolutely amazing. Her acting is nuanced and insightful. Her variety of accents was perfect. And I actually will seek out books she's narrated. Please keep using her!

I really don't know what my two predecessor reviewers were talking about. I thought it was terrific.

10 stars!

Great Story, Great Narrator. Enjoyed Immensely!

I ordered this book without reading the reviews because it is this month's selection for one of my book clubs. After listening for a few hours and thinking what a great choice it was and how glad I was I ordered the audible version I went back to the review page to see what others had said - I was shocked to see a number of listeners had the exact opposite response! I consider this to be one of the best audio books I've listened to this year. The story was intriguing and gave a detailed glimpse into life in Hong Kong, before WW II, during and after.

Hong Kong is a place I know nothing about, I'm sorry to confess, so I can only assume the picture Ms. Lee paints is accurate.

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Title: Waiting

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Ha Jin

Narrator: Dick Hill

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-22-08

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 77 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

National Book Award, Fiction, 1999

For more than 17 years, this devoted and ambitious doctor has been in love with a modern woman, Manna Wu. But back in the traditional world of his home village lives the wife his family chose for him when he was young - a humble and touchingly loyal woman, whom he visits in order to ask, again and again, for a divorce.

In a culture in which the ancient ties of tradition and family still hold sway and where adultery discovered by the Party can ruin lives forever, Lin's passionate love is stretched taut by the passing years. Every summer, his compliant wife agrees to a divorce but then backs out. This time, Lin promises, will be different.

Tracing these lives through their summer of decision and beyond, Ha Jin vividly conjures the texture of daily life in a place where the demand of human longing must contend with the weight of centuries of custom. Waiting charms and startles us with its depiction of a China that remains hidden to Western eyes, even as it moves us with its piercing vision of the universal complications of love.

Critic Reviews:

"Ha Jin's book could hardly be less theatrical, yet we're immediately engaged by its narrative structure, by its wry humor and by the subtle, startling shifts it produces in our understanding of the characters and their situation." (The New York Times Book Review)

"A deceptively simple tale, written with extraordinary precision and grace. Ha Jin has established himself as one of the great sturdy realists still writing in a postmodern age." (Kirkus Reviews)

Members Reviews:

Relatively generic

The 3rd person omniscient view is not engaging, and the story lacked a thrust or any sort of unique component. It is very jarring to know what every character is thinking at all times, because at that point you're not experiencing the story with the characters, and may as well cut to the chase, since if you were omniscient you would know how the story ends...

An amazing piece of work!

An amazing piece of work! The story itself is beyond culture, country and time. It happens everywhere.

waiting indeed.

I loved this story. it makes you wonder is that grass greener on the other side? reminds me of the fig tree story

Lyrically beautiful storytelling

This book reads so lyrically that it is a real pleasure to listen to as an audible. Beautiful description and phrasing. I will surely be looking for other works by this author. The narration was perfectly done for the sense of this story.

Waiting...for this book to improve

What would have made Waiting better?

It was terribly boring. I couldn't root for any of the characters.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

It was ok. Whiney at times but so were the characters. Strange end to all of the chapters.

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

No

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Title: The Enchantress of Florence

Author: Salman Rushdie

Narrator: Firdous Bamji

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-11-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 275 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

In the imperial capital of the Mughal Empire, a traveler arrives at the court of Emperor Akbar. The traveler, Mogor dell'Amore, has a tale to tell, and as the words flow out of him, the tale's rich tapestry of power and desire begins to take on a life of its own. Fueled by the urgency of his narrative and its growing effect on his audience, the traveler paints a vivid portrait of faraway Florence, a beautiful enchantress, and the infamous figure of Niccolò Machiavelli.

Winner of the Booker Prize, Rushdie delights all those who revel in literature of sublime achievement. Narrator Firdous Bamji matches the author's exquisite prose with a reading that conveys the full breadth of this lovingly detailed novel.

Critic Reviews:

This is history jubilantly mixed with postmodernist magic realism. (Joyce Carol Oates,

The New York Review of Books)

A romance of beauty and power from Italy to India . . . so delightful an homage to Renaissance magic and wonder. (Michael Dirda,

The Washington Post Book World)

"Ingenious...[a] sparkling return to form." (

Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Rich and haunting

This book is a feast of language. Textured, intense, and lyrical, especially as read by this narrator, the prose resonates. The characters are certainly memorable and their stories capture the imagination, but it is the depth of the language that brings this book repeatedly to my mind at odd moments and makes me want to read or listen to every other novel Rushdie has ever written.

There are "easier" books out there. If you're looking for an action yarn or a bit of romantic fluff, look elsewhere. If however you want something that enriches you, that is worth the time you spend with it, and that will keep you sitting out in the car just to hear a little more of the magic, consider listening to this.

An absolute delight

This book is more accessible to a Western audience than many of Rushdie's. And the satire is less bitter than some of his more famous works (Midnight's Children and the Satanic Verses). The story line will be of particular interest to those fascinated with late 15th and early 16th Century (global) history.

It is not his best book. My personal favorites are Shalimar the Clown and Fury. But it is his most delightful -- enchanting in fact.

Jim

The Enchantress of Florence ... Why?!

So much writing talent devoted to such highly embellished and extremely well written meaninglessness. Way too much pointless detail, unending sentences (phrased to death), and mountains of fully spelled out Florentine and Hindustani names. With full respect for Rushdie's phenomenal abilities, I nevertheless suggest that there is too much talent thrown at too little substance. A real disappointment, and unending!

Trying too Hard

While this is a reasonably good listen, it struck me again and again that Rushdie is simply trying too hard. One person's art may be another's pretention, but this struck me as the latter. The uneven production and narration didn't help.

Bad Narration

This is a difficult book to follow. It is not helped by a narrator who makes every sentence a declarative statement with awkward pauses. His style reminds me of grade school when we had to sit through each kid reading a paragraph out loud.

I've attempted to listen to this a few times over the last 6 months. It's too annoying.

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Title: Dog Soldiers

Author: Robert Stone

Narrator: Tom Stechschulte

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-15-08

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 52 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

In Saigon during the waning days of the Vietnam War, a small-time journalist named John Converse thinks he'll find action - and profit - by getting involved in a big-time drug deal. But back in the States, things go horribly wrong for him. Dog Soldiers perfectly captures the underground mood of America in the 1970s, when amateur drug dealers and hippies encountered profiteering cops and professional killers - and the price of survival was dangerously high.

©1973, 1974, 1994 Robert Stone; (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America

Critic Reviews:

"A dark descendant of Conrad's and Hemingway's adventure stories...Goes hell-for-leather across the landscape." (The New York Times Book Review)

Members Reviews:

intense narrative of a dark and complex time

Would you consider the audio edition of Dog Soldiers to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version.

What did you like best about this story?

the subtleties of the characterizations

Which scene was your favorite?

inside the mountain

If you could rename Dog Soldiers, what would you call it?

I would not rename it. This is a silly request in my opinion.

oy gevalt

An hour and a half into this, I give up. No Mas. Maybe it is me, but I just can't follos it.

dull and painful and depressing

This book is well read and has a superficially plausible plot. It was good enough that I managed to listen through to the bitter end, but that's the best I can say for it. A tale of a not-very-bright journalist's foray into the drug business, the story never becomes believable or engaging. We have deep exploration into the human psyche. We have page after page of slow, unredeeming death. The book is dull and painful and depressing - Conrad without the magic.

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Title: Our Story Begins

Subtitle: New and Selected Stories

Author: Tobias Wolff

Narrator: Anthony Heald

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-26-08

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 64 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

In this potent new collection, the first in over a decade, Wolff displays his mastery over a quarter century, once again proving himself "a writer of the highest order: part storyteller, part philosopher, someone deeply engaged in asking hard questions that take a lifetime to resolve." (Los Angeles Times)

Critic Reviews:

"[A]s good as anything Wolff has done...Wolff expertly uses irony and empathy to explore facets of contemporary life." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Great

I have very little experience reading Tobias Wolfe. I tried "Old School" a few years back, but got bored with it. However I gave this collection of short stories a shot and am glad I did. What amazes me is how different each story is. Its almost as if a different person wrote each story. They are all very engrossing and have strong characters. I enjoyed this audio and will definitely listen to it again in the future

Wonderful stories and a good reader

I loved this book. My only complaint is that they should have included five or ten second gaps between the stories. One story ends and then you immediately hear the title for the next story.

Troubling, funny stories that deserve better

If you could sum up Our Story Begins in three words, what would they be?

Surprising, puzzling, long-lived in my head.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator was OK but seemed to be totally off on his inflections in some stories. Not enough to ruin the stories, tho.

Any additional comments?

A book you will want to save in your library forever.

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Title: Sepulchre

Author: Kate Mosse

Narrator: Lorelei King

Format: Unabridged

Length: 20 hrs and 32 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-04-08

Publisher: Orion Publishing Group Limited

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 55 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

October 1891: A young girl, Léonie Verniern, and her brother, Anatole, abandon the gas-lit streets of Paris for the sanctuary of the Domaine de la Cade, some miles south of the medieval city of Carcassone. But, in the ancient woods that surround the isolated country house, Léonie stumbles across a ruined Visigoth sepulchre - and a timeless mystery whose traces are written in blood. As she peels back the layers of the past, she uncovers the existence of a unique deck of tarot cards that are rumoured to hold the power of life and death.

October 2007: Researching a biography of the composer Claude Debussy in the apparent tranquillity of the Pyrenean foothills, Meredith Marin also seeks the key to her own complex legacy. Armed with a haunting piece of piano music and a sepia photograph, she soon becomes immersed in the story of a tragic love, a missing girl, an unquiet soul, and the strange events of one cataclysmic night more than a century ago.

As the Feast of All Saints approaches - when the veil between life and death is at its thinnest - Meredith is drawn inexorably to a secluded forest glade where the secrets of the past are far from buried.

Critic Reviews:

"The latest from the the author of best-selling Labyrinth, this adventure will keep you engrossed." (Eve)

"Sexy, modern adventure." (Saga)

Members Reviews:

Amazingly Brilliant

I must say I was a bit skeptical about listening to this book because of all the reviews that turned me off. They said that Mosse's Labrynth was much better and this one was not all there. I did enjoy her first book and with that assurance (you can't write a bad book after a good one) I did start listening. I must agree that the book is a bit slow in the beginning, but that's only because it's such a long book. Otherwise the book is amazing. It is very sad and moving too, the closure is not one that I would have wanted. Not your usual happily ever after but still.... The narrator also does the naration very well with all the French names and places.

I would recommend this book to someone who likes long but a bit slow moving and very emotional books.

Sepulchre

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend all of Kate Mosse's books to anyone who like an original and brilliant novel.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sepulchre?

One was near the end, where Lenore is in the Sepulchre.

Which scene was your favorite?

There are many, the gunfight and aftermath.

Who was the most memorable character of Sepulchre and why?

Lenore, in the 1890s Her story was slightly the best.

Any additional comments?

I rarely comment or give reviews, as they can be so subjective, but I love the way all her books tie in, Labrynth being the first of the series, neatly ties in with Sepulchre and Citadel, and even Citadel ties in with the Winter Ghosts.

I was sorry to have finished reading the books, I have purchased the actual books, and I got the Audio books to put a different slant on what I had read.

Sepulchre had me get my Tarot cards out for another look, and buy some apps.

I am looking forward to her next book.

Templars, Tarot and Rennes Le Chateau

An ambitious writing project, brilliantly accomplished. The title is apt, referring to both a tomb and also a repository for religious objects.

The novel has the feel of an epic with family and genealogy as one of the main themes.

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Title: The Woman Who Walked into Doors

Author: Roddy Doyle

Narrator: Jennifer Van Dyck

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-15-08

Publisher: Penguin Group USA and Audible

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 40 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Paula Spencer is a 39-year-old working-class woman struggling to reclaim her dignity after marriage to an abusive husband and a worsening drinking problem. Paula recalls her contented childhood, the audacity she learned as a teenager, the exhilaration of her romance with Charlo, and the marriage to him that left her feeling powerless.

©1996 Roddy Doyle; (P)2008 Penguin

Critic Reviews:

"A perception that is rare [and] a compassion that is scorching." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Very Interesting

But not a light read/listen. It seems wrong to say I "enjoyed" the book because of its sad subject matter: spousal abuse. Instead, I'll say that it engaged me. Some may think it odd for a man to create such a narrator, but Doyle succeeds with his sensitive hand, making Paula realistic and empathetic. The reader was just right. I'm looking forward to the sequel.

Harrowing and wonderful

Roddy Doyle captures the painful reality of domestic violence ... and the audio just adds to the power of this book!

For Kids?

Any additional comments?

This was an Audible Kids book? It had plenty of sex and violence...not bad for an adult but I am not sure it is appropriate for kids, not even middle/high school kids. It was an interesting exploration of domestic violence and the stream of consciousness opened a window into how all that can happen between people who never thought that would happen to them.

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Titel: Die Taube

Autor:: Patrick Süskind

Erzähler: Hans Korte

Format: Unabridged

Spieldauer: 2 hrs and 21 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 10-01-07

Herausgeber: Diogenes Verlag AG

Bewertung: 4 von 5 von 2 Stimmen

Kategorien: Fiction, Literary

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

In fünf Monaten wird der Wachmann einer Pariser Bank das Eigentum an seiner kleinen Mansarde endgültig erworben haben, wird ein weiterer Markstein seines Lebensplanes gesetzt sein. Doch dieser fatalistische Ablauf wird an einem heißen Freitagmorgen jäh vom Erscheinen einer Taube in Frage gestellt.

(c)+(p) 2007 Diogenes Verlag AG

Kritik Bewertungen:

Ein rares Meisterstück zeitgenössischer Prosa, eine dicht gesponnene, psychologisch raffiniert umgesetzte Erzählung.

--Rheinischer Merkur

Mitglieder Bewertungen:

Absolute and timeless masterpiece in German language.

I read this book in school, wanted to read it again, patiently waited for it to be available in Kindle edition...Thank you Amazon!

It's about a guy with a really steady routine in his life that gets upset when he finds a dove in the corridor. It's the writing style that makes it exciting. It's accessible for relative beginners in German and yet it has a very high literature factor. These two qualities are not easy to combine!

Home is where the heart is

It's a pity that Patrick Süskind has been so defined by Das Parfum. Die Taube is a little gem that is much more interesting in its own way. Its protagonist is about as different from the morbid anti-hero of the Das Parfum as is possible.

The hero, as the author tells us, started off life with a series of surprises. Nasty ones. He loses first one parent, then the other. Then he's cuckolded into marrying a pregnant girl - who promptly runs off with another man.

Completely humiliated, he decides that from hence forth he will live life on his own terms, to please nobody but himself. His choice is to move into the tiny apartment that will be his home for life and find work as a bank security guard.. His duties are to stand in one spot all day, except for an occasional tour of the building or to open the door for customers or the bank president.

It is a life devoid of surprises. He is content, but it takes a homing pigeon with a bad sense of direction to make him understand just how happy he is.