Download the Top 100 Audiobooks in Fiction, Historical

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Title: Waves of Mercy

Author: Lynn Austin

Narrator: Rachel Dulude, Margaret Strom

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-04-16

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 275 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In 1897, Geesje de Jonge is asked to write a memoir about her experience emigrating from the Netherlands to the Michigan wilderness in honor of her town's 50th anniversary. As Geesje recalls the events of the past, a young visitor, Anna Nicholson, mourns a broken engagement. Over the course of one summer, the lives of both women will change forever.

Lynn Austin returns with a multi-generational historical novel.

Geesje de Jonge crossed the ocean at age 17 with her parents and a small group of immigrants from the Netherlands to settle in the Michigan wilderness. Fifty years later, in 1897, she's asked to write a memoir of her early experiences as the town celebrates its anniversary. Reluctant at first, she soon uncovers memories and emotions hidden all these years, including the story of her one true love.

At the nearby Hotel Ottawa Resort on the shore of Lake Michigan, 23-year-old Anna Nicholson is trying to ease the pain of a broken engagement to a wealthy Chicago banker. But her time of introspection is disturbed after a violent storm aboard a steamship stirs up memories of a childhood nightmare. As more memories and dreams surface, Anna begins to question who she is and whether she wants to return to her wealthy life in Chicago. When she befriends a young seminary student who is working at the hotel for the summer, she finds herself asking him all the questions that have been troubling her.

Neither Geesje nor Anna, who are different in every possible way, can foresee the life-altering surprises awaiting them before the summer ends.

Members Reviews:

Lynn Austin is amazing! Narration stinks

If you could sum up Waves of Mercy in three words, what would they be?

Captivating, Heartbreaking, Triumphant

What other book might you compare Waves of Mercy to and why?

I'm not sure I can compare it to another story. The 'rags to riches' for an abandoned orphan has been done, but not in this fashion. The 'tragedy to triumph' has also been done before, but this book pulled me in like very few have.

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

This is where it gets disappointing. Lynn Austin's previous narrators have set the bar quite high and I'm sad to say that these ladies did not meet expectations. The female voices were just okay, but the male voices were plodding and uninspired. They made me want to quit the book on more than one occasion. It was PAINFUL to listen to the men speak. I would definitely hesitate if I saw any one of these ladies on another recording.

Any additional comments?

I've listened to nearly every one of Lynn Austin's books and I was not disappointed by this book. Well, at least not by the writing. The narration leaves much to be desired. Also, the book did not have the ending I was expecting. I'm hoping there will be a sequel!

Disappointing for Lynn Austin, Poor Performance

Lynn Austin is my favorite author. I love all of her books with this one exception. It was a engaging story but very tragic. So many trials and unfortunate circumstances. However, I could have gotten past the depressing nature of the book if it was not for the narration. There were two narrators and one was terrible. I have never thought that narration alone could ruin a book for me, but I was wrong.

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Title: The Jealous Kind

Author: James Lee Burke

Narrator: Will Patton

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-30-16

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1129 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

From award-winning New York Times best-selling author James Lee Burke - an atmospheric, powerful coming-of-age story set in 1950s Texas, as the specter of the Korean War looms.

On its surface, life in Houston in the 1950s is as you'd expect: stoic fathers, restless teens, drive-in movies, and souped-up Cadillacs. But underneath lies a world shifting under high school junior Aaron Broussard's feet. There's a class war between the "haves" and the "have-nots" as well as a real war, Korea, happening on the other side of the world. It is against this backdrop that Aaron comes of age, trying to understand how first loves, friendship, violence, and power can alter what "traditional America" means for the people trying to find their way in a changing world.

When Aaron spots the beautiful Valerie Epstein fighting with her boyfriend, Grady Harrelson, at a drive-in, he steps in. Aaron and Valerie begin dating, but Grady presents a looming problem - as does Grady's father, who has troubling criminal connections. In the middle of it all is Aaron, who seemingly takes care of one threat only to see multiple ones manifest in its stead.

In The Jealous Kind, "modern master" (Publishers Weekly) James Lee Burke creates a singular bittersweet experience that mirrors a larger world on the precipice of great change. As Aaron undergoes his harrowing evolution from boy to man, we can't help but recall the inspirational power of first love and how far we would go to protect the world we know.

Critic Reviews:

"James Lee Burke's exquisite story about a teenager caught up in a 1950s class war, narrated by Will Patton, grabs listeners from the get-go. His portrayal of the novel's young narrator, Aaron Holland Broussard, is fully believable.... On a deeper level, Patton's compassion resonates as the boy struggles to prevent his best friend from self-destructing...this is a stellar production, not to be missed." (AudioFile)

Members Reviews:

An engaging , well written book , but.....

James Lee Burke is an exceptional story teller and a great writer. His characters are chiselled with a powerful style and gusto and move in an evocative southern atmosphere. The plot is around a young man coming of age in '50's Houston when he encounters romantic love, unrestricted violence and the continue dilemma of choices between evil and good. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, but, admittedly, there is too much ; the story is too intense for high schoolers who speak like John Wayne in the good old western movies of the 60s. Eventually it doesn't ring true.

Will Patton is outstanding and his reading performance is a pleasure by itself.

The magic combination of Burke and Patton

The Jealous Kind, a novel of over eleven hours, could just as easily have been a short story: the narrative takes place among divergent small groups of teenagers and adults over a few summer weeks in early 1950s Houston. Instead, James Lee Burke has graced us with this beautifully constructed and worded full-length work. Because Burke is one of my two favorite authors (the other, not coincidentally, being Larry McMurtry), I have to admit to bias, but all I can say is that this is not only Burke at his best, but novel-writing itself at its best.

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Title: To the Bright Edge of the World

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Eowyn Ivey

Narrator: John Glouchevitch, Christine Lakin, Kiff Vandenheuvel

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-02-16

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 211 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

From the best-selling author of The Snow Child, a thrilling tale of historical adventure set in the Alaskan wilderness.

In the winter of 1885, Lieutenant Colonel Allen Forrester sets out with his men on an expedition into the newly acquired territory of Alaska. Their objective: to travel up the ferocious Wolverine River, mapping the interior and gathering information on the region's potentially dangerous native tribes. With a young and newly pregnant wife at home, Forrester is anxious to complete the journey with all possible speed and return to her. But once the crew passes beyond the edge of the known world, there's no telling what awaits them.

With gorgeous descriptions of the Alaskan wilds and a vivid cast of characters - including Forrester; his wife, Sophie; a mysterious Eyak guide; and a Native American woman who joins the expedition - To the Bright Edge of the World is an epic tale of one of America's last frontiers, combining myth, history, romance, and adventure.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

Members Reviews:

A Jumble

For me this book was too heavy on the myth, the romance and the supernatural. The letters and journal entries were confusing and nonlinear. If you decide on giving the book a try it is imperative to pay close attention to the dates announced with each narrator change. If you don't you will find the whole thing hard to follow as the story jumps around through time.

I would have liked more history and a tighter story line. For example, things like the lack of attention and detail about the actualities of the "row boat" the men used on the exploration of the river weakened the story. The fact that the men in reality would have portaged thousands of pounds of gear, lined (dragged by ropes) what was most likely a Columbia boat along miles of icy river banks and then did not freeze to death when submerged "to the neck" in the "frozen" water--just to mention three things missing from the story--was disappointing. I understand that Columbia boats--used during the time of this story--in the Pacific Northwest were lighter and easier to portage than the York boats of central and eastern Canada--but still they weighed thousands of pounds loaded. This would have been a terrible job--but all we hear is that the men carried their packs???

For me, there were too many missed opportunities for accuracy and historic detail that mattered to the story being told. Only for readers who love epistolary romance novels heavy on supernatural myths.

Excellent Narrators!

LOVED IT.

Expository novel in alternating voices: The journals of Colonel Allen Forrester, on an expedition to explore an uncharted region in Alaska in the late 1800's, and his wife Sophie, who wishes to be with him but remains behind in the army barracks of Vancouver, Washington, pregnant; in between these alternating journal entries are the modern day letters between Forrester's descendent and a museum curator in Alaska. Expository novel + magical realism (Ivey incorporates many Alaskan Native myths into the narrative) probably makes it something not everyone will like, but I loved it.

The audiobook was a good production, each character having their own narrator.

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Title: This Must Be the Place

Author: Maggie O'Farrell

Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld, Graham Rowat

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-19-16

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 106 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The dazzling new novel from best-selling, award-winning author Maggie O'Farrell, This Must Be the Place crosses time zones and continents to reveal an extraordinary portrait of a marriage.

Meet Daniel Sullivan, a man with a complicated life. A New Yorker living in the wilds of Ireland, he has children he never sees in California; a father he loathes in Brooklyn; and a wife, Claudette, who is a reclusive ex-film star given to shooting at anyone who ventures up their driveway. He is also about to find out something about a woman he lost touch with 20 years ago, and this discovery will send him off course, far away from wife and home. Will his love for Claudette be enough to bring him back?

This Must Be the Place crosses continents and time zones, giving voice to a diverse and complex cast of characters. At its heart it is an extraordinary portrait of a marriage, the forces that hold it together, and the pressures that drive it apart. Maggie O'Farrell's seventh novel is a dazzling, intimate epic about who we leave behind and who we become as we search for our place in the world.

Members Reviews:

A good story spoiled

What made the experience of listening to This Must Be the Place the most enjoyable?

Maggie Farrell's skilful building of a story and its changes of time and place.

What was one of the most memorable moments of This Must Be the Place?

Bitter-sweet moments when the protagonists were stopped in their tracks by a memory.

What didnt you like about Graham Rowat and Saskia Maarleveld s performance?

I find it intensely irritating when narrators can't pronounce quite simple foreign words properly. SK is clearly neither British nor American and I think one of either of those nationalities would have been better. 'Maman' and so many other instances of mispoken words.This really spoiled my enjoyment of a good story, my attention often being taken by irritating narration.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me sad for all the chararcters who seemed so lost most of the time.

Any additional comments?

I wish that Maggie Farrell would lose her maddening habit of making long lists of words, sometimes describing the same thing. Perhaps this is her signature?

Wonderful book

I truly enjoyed this - and loved the female narrator. Something about the male narrator's reading voice very much annoyed me, though, which is why I can only award three stars for performance.

Not as good as others but still enjoyable.

Somewhat complicated family structure. I didn't warm to any of the characters. Attempts at voice changes by the narrator were not convincing.

Liked it?

I tried to Not like this book. But, in the end, I loved it. Persevere !

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Title: The Last Woman Standing

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Thelma Adams

Narrator: Emily Foster

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-01-16

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 512 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Two decades after the Civil War, Josephine Marcus, the teenage daughter of Jewish immigrants, is lured west with the promise of marriage to Johnny Behan, one of Arizona's famous lawmen. She leaves her San Francisco home to join Behan in Tombstone, Arizona, a magnet for miners (and outlaws) attracted by the silver boom. Though united by the glint of metal, Tombstone is plagued by divided loyalties: between Confederates and Unionists, Lincoln Republicans and Democrats.

But when the silver-tongued Behan proves unreliable, it is legendary frontiersman Wyatt Earp who emerges as Josephine's match. As the couple's romance sparks, Behan's jealousy ignites a rivalry destined for the history books....

At once an epic account of an improbable romance and a retelling of an iconic American tale, The Last Woman Standing recalls the famed gunfight at the O.K. Corral through the eyes of a spunky heroine who sought her happy ending in a lawless outpost - with a fierce will and an unflagging spirit.

Members Reviews:

Disappointed...

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Keeping closer to the true facts about the character who was no goodie two-shoes.

What was most disappointing about Thelma Adamss story?

The sophomoric writing.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Emily Foster?

I don't think it would matter. It pained me to listen but I did suffer the entire story.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Last Woman Standing?

i have no idea.

Any additional comments?

This could have been a great book if the author followed what appears to be the true story of the main character and made her more real. I felt like she wrote the book to appeal to a fifth grade girl.

Good historic fictional account of the woman who loved, and was loved by, Wyatt Earp

It's a story of love, but not a romance novel. Wyatt's story has been told and retold for generations, but Josie's has been left to speculation. Although this is fiction, it seems to have been well researched and stands up to most of the facts as we know them. I fact checked as I listened, and found a treasure trove of photographs, most captured by C.S. Fly the photographer and his wife Mollie, a photographer in her own right, in Tombstone. Interesting story of the woman behind the man.

great story

blunt and exciting. this story was captivating from the opening line. interesting story line for a frontier woman

Fantastic!

We loved this book. We were laughing and chatting about it so much that we hit rewind a few times.

It's a zero

Horrible all the way around. Boring, and vulgar. Poor language. Deserves a zero.

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Title: Return Engagement

Subtitle: Settling Accounts, Book 1

Author: Harry Turtledove

Narrator: Paul Costanzo

Format: Unabridged

Length: 25 hrs and 32 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-31-16

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 125 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In 1914, they called it The Great War, and few could imagine anything worse. For nearly three decades, a peace forged in blood and fatigue has held sway in North America. Now, Japan dominates the Pacific, the Russian Tsar rules Alaska, and England, under Winston Churchill, chafes for a return to its former glory. But behind the façade of world order, America is a bomb waiting to go off. Jake Featherston, the megalomaniacal leader of the Confederate States of America, is just the man to light the fuse.

In the White House in Philadelphia, Socialist President Al Smith is a living symbol of hope for a nation that has been through the fires of war and the flood tides of depression. In the South, Featherston and his ruling Freedom Party have put down a Negro rebellion with a bloody fist and have interned them in concentration camps. Now, they are determined to crush their Northern neighbor at any cost.

Critic Reviews:

"Turtledove produces yet another absorbing installment of his character-centered alternate-history saga." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Great book bad narrator

Would you listen to Return Engagement again? Why?

I would, inspite of me feeling the narration wasn't very good.

What did you like best about this story?

Seeing old and new characters from Southern Victory back again.

What three words best describe Paul Costanzos voice?

Not that great.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The scenes of blacks being killed almost made me cry.

Any additional comments?

They should've stuck with George Guidall as narrator.

Need Guidall back!!

I've read all in the order 191 series Guidall is awesome this narrator is not!! Like Roy Dotrice for the game of thrones novels when you add a a new narrator the texture and flavor of the authors delivery can be ruined

Miss the old reader

The new narrator for the book is not as good as the previous one. Monotonous at times. Butchers names and even a few common words.

The story is great though. Definitely a good series

Great Book HORRIBLE NARRATION

I've read all the books in this series in print. I got involved in the audiobooks for my long drives and my typical commute to and from work. I love the books and think they're well written. George Guidell was a VERY good narrator and I enjoyed listening to his readings. Paul Costanzo is the exact opposite. It seems like he has no idea how to read with any sort of inflection. I've been waiting for five years for this release. I was surprised to find it when I searched for it. I've not even finished the reading yet but it's painful to listen to. I love this series dearly and if the publishers are reading these reviews at all: PLEASE FIND SOMEONE BETTER TO READ THESE. If you can't get George Guidell back, get someone who knows how to narrate and not make every last word sound awkward and unfamiliar. This painful narration rips you from the book entirely.

Its Turtledove!

I have been waiting for this forever.

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Título: La reina descalza [The Barefoot Queen]

Autor: Ildefonso Falcones

Narrador: Victòria Pagès

Formato: Unabridged

Duración: 29 hrs and 4 mins

Idioma: Español

Fecha de publicación: 04-14-16

Editor: Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial

Calificaciones: 4.5 de 5 de 130 votos

Categorías: Fiction, Historical

Resumen del editor:

En la España del siglo XVIII, una conmovedora historia de amistad, pasión y venganza une dos voces de mujer en un canto desgarrador por la libertad.

Enero de 1748. Una mujer negra deambula por las calles de Sevilla. Ha abandonado a su hijo y ha huido de un pasado esclavo en Cuba. Caridad ya no tiene un amo, pero tampoco un lugar donde cobijarse. Entonces conoce a Milagros Carmona, una joven gitana de Triana por cuyas venas corre la sangre de la rebeldía.

Las dos mujeres se convierten en inseparables y, entre zarabandas y fandangos, la gitana confiesa a su nueva amiga su amor por el apuesto y arrogante Pedro García, de quien la separan antiguos odios entre ambas familias. Por su parte, Caridad se esfuerza por reprimir sus sentimientos por Melchor Vega, el abuelo de Milagros, un hombre desafiante, bribón y seductor, pero también firme defensor del honor y la lealtad. Cuando un mandato real convierte a los gitanos en proscritos, los caminos de Milagros y Caridad se separan, aunque el destino volverá a unirlas en Madrid.

Ildefonso Falcones nos propone un viaje a una época apasionante, teñida por los prejuicios y la intolerancia. Desde Sevilla hasta Madrid, desde el tumultuoso bullicio de la gitanería hasta los teatros señoriales de la capital, los lectores disfrutarán de un fresco histórico poblado por personajes que viven, aman, sufren y pelean por lo que creen justo. Fiel reflejo de unos hombres y mujeres que no agacharon la cabeza y que alzaron la voz para enfrentarse al orden establecido.

Reseña:

"Falcones se ha consagrado como el autor español de novela histórica más vendido en el mundo."

El País

Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.

Opiniones de los miembros:

memorable

Obra que se disfruta de principio a fin, como buen libro de Falcones!

excelente calidad de narración

Duele!!!!!

Extraordinario libro !! Preciosa descripción de todos los lugares así como de cada detalle del sentimiento

el dolor y orgullo !!

Este libro fue muy interesante y, a la vez, conmovedor. He descubierto a un buen autor en Falcones.

the barefoot Queen

Perfect story and story telling of the author. Little was known to me about the traditions and ways in which the gypsy community lived in the 18th century. As always Falcones is extremely apt in combining the narrative of his story with the historical broader facts. Recommended for all those who love history with fiction.

No tiene varios actores, música de fondo ni efectos sonoros. Bla bla bla bla bla

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Título: La luz que no puedes ver [All the Light We Cannot See]

Autor: Anthony Doerr

Narrador: Miguel Ángel Jenerr

Formato: Unabridged

Duración: 15 hrs and 43 mins

Idioma: Español

Fecha de publicación: 03-29-16

Editor: Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial

Calificaciones: 4.5 de 5 de 169 votos

Categorías: Fiction, Historical

Resumen del editor:

Premio Pulitzer de Ficción 2015.

Un corazón puro puede brillar aun en la noche más oscura. Y en el más terrible de los tiempos.

Marie-Laure vive con su padre en París, cerca del Museo de Historia Natural, donde él trabaja como responsable de sus mil cerraduras. Cuando, siendo muy niña, Marie-Laure se queda ciega, su padre le construye una perfecta miniatura de su barrio para que pueda memorizarla gracias al tacto y encontrar el camino a casa. A sus doce años, los nazis ocupan París y padre e hija tienen que huir a la ciudad amurallada de Saint-Malo. Con ellos se llevan la que podría ser la más preciada y peligrosa joya del museo.

En una ciudad minera de Alemania, el joven huérfano Werner crece junto a su hermana pequeña, cautivado por una rudimentaria radio que ambos encuentran. Werner se convierte en un experto en construir y reparar estos aparatos cruciales para los nuevos tiempos, untalento que no pasa desapercibido a las Juventudes Hitlerianas.

Siguiendo al ejército alemán, Werner deberá atravesar el corazón en guerra de Europa. Hasta que en la última noche antes de la liberación de Saint-Malo los caminos de Werner y Marie-Laure por fin se crucen. Y sus vidas cambien para siempre.

N. 1 en las listas debest sellers en Estados Unidos.

Finalista del National Book Award.

Mejor novela de 2014 en iTunes.

Entre los mejores diez libros del año para The New York Times.

N. 1 de ficción histórica de 2014 en Goodreads.

Premio 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medal de novela de la American Library Association.

"Estoy leyendo un libro maravilloso. Solo llevo la mitad así que no puedo hablar hasta el final, pero es un verdadero placer. Quería contároslo. Estilo impecable, personajes maravillosos y una vívida recreación de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. ¿Qué más se puede pedir?... ¿Y no es preciosa la cubierta?"

Kate Morton

Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.

Crítica Comentarios:

"Inolvidablemente hermoso." (The New York Times)

"No creo que este año vaya a leer un libro mejor que La luz que no puedes ver." (Washington Post)

"Una hermosa, valiente, desgarradora y extrañamente alegre novela." (The Seattle Times)

Opiniones de los miembros:

Buena historia pero no muy buen narrador

El narrador es muy monótono y no actúa ninguno de los personajes, no muestra ninguna emoción, la narración es completamente plana.

Valentía o es que acaso tenía alguna otra opción

La historia me atrapó desde un principio. Es muy original y el modo en que está escrita le da un muy buen ritmo. La evolución de los personajes es muy interesante así como su desenlace.

El escenario: Saint Malo en la segunda guerra mundial (1944) le da un gran dramatismo histórico.

La narración es muy aceptable.

Hermosa historia

Muy buen libro. Linda historia, bellamente narrada. Personajes entrañables y reales.

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Title: The Two-Family House

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Linda Cohen Loigman

Narrator: Barrie Kreinik

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-08-16

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 606 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Brooklyn, 1947: In the midst of a blizzard, in a two-family brownstone, two babies are born minutes apart to two women. They are sisters by marriage, with an impenetrable bond forged before and during that dramatic night; but as the years progress, small cracks start to appear, and their once deep friendship begins to unravel. No one knows why, and no one can stop it.

One misguided choice; one moment of tragedy. Heartbreak wars with happiness and almost but not quite wins. From debut novelist Lynda Cohen Loigman comes The Two-Family House, a moving family saga filled with heart, emotion, longing, love, and mystery.

Critic Reviews:

"Two families, both living in one house, drive an exquisitely written novel of love, alliances, the messiness of life and long buried secrets. Loigman's debut is just shatteringly wonderful and I can't wait to see what she does next." (Caroline Leavitt,

New York Times best-selling author of

Is This Tomorrow and

Pictures of You)

"No good deed goes unpunished. In a single, intensely charged moment, two women come to a private agreement meant to assure each other's happiness. But as Lynda Cohen Loigman deftly reveals, life is not so simple, especially when it involves two families, tightly intertwined.

The Two-Family House is sympathetically observed and surely plotted all the way through to its deeply satisfying conclusion." [Christina Schwarz, author of

Drowning Ruth (an Oprah's Book Club pick) and national best seller

The Edge of the Earth]

Members Reviews:

A Two Family Saga

This book is set in late 1940s Brooklyn and focuses on a close-knit large extended family who live and work together in the family box factory. The story clips along at an engaging speed with lots of dialogue, well developed characters and several convoluted family secrets.

The storytelling really shines in its ability to make the characters believable people you can care about. Even better, gradually and subtly the story becomes a mirror the author, Loigman, holds up to the reader. The listener may even be able to recognize people, behaviors, and choices from their own lives and family in these characters. In doing this, the author shows the often inept and unaware power family members have over one another. This, at times, makes the book thought provoking and insightful. At other times, the writing had some clunkiness to it and I'm hoping this will disappear with experience.

The narration was a bit wooden in spots but over all Kreinik did a good job capturing the feeling and tone of the time.

If you enjoy multi-character complex family dramas set in distinct historic locations you might just like this book. I really enjoyed it.

P.S. I agree with another reviewer -- I hope we hear more about Judith -- maybe book 2?

Excellent for your book club

This was an fabulous story about the intricate tangled relationships that evolve when 2 brothers, with very different temperaments, marry after WWII and their young families grow up in a two family house in Brooklyn.The brothers also own a family business. This book provided my book club with hours of great discussion. There was so much to ponder. We all highly recommend it.

The only downside to me was that the narrators voice was a bit grating. It didn't ruin the story!

Family (melo)drama

Initially, I wasn't sure about this one.

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Title: The Golden Son

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Narrator: Sunil Malhotra

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-26-16

Publisher: HarperAudio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 166 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The New York Times and number-one internationally best-selling author of Secret Daughter returns with an unforgettable story of family, responsibility, love, honor, tradition, and identity, in which two childhood friends - a young doctor and a newly married bride - must balance the expectations of their culture and their families with the desires of their own hearts.

The first of his family to go to college, Anil Patel, the golden son, carries the weight of tradition and his family's expectations when he leaves his tiny Indian village to begin a medical residency in Dallas, Texas, at one of the busiest and most competitive hospitals in America. When his father dies, Anil becomes the de facto head of the Patel household and inherits the mantle of arbiter for all of the village's disputes. But he is uneasy with the custom, uncertain that he has the wisdom and courage demonstrated by his father and grandfather. His doubts are compounded by the difficulties he discovers in adjusting to a new culture and a new job - challenges that will shake his confidence in himself and his abilities.

Back home in India, Anil's closest childhood friend, Leena, struggles to adapt to her demanding new husband and relatives. Arranged by her parents, the marriage shatters Leena's romantic hopes and eventually forces her to make a desperate choice that will hold drastic repercussions for herself and her family. Though Anil and Leena struggle to come to terms with their identities thousands of miles apart, their lives eventually intersect once more - changing them both and the people they love forever.

Tender and bittersweet, The Golden Son illuminates the ambivalence of people caught between past and present, tradition and modernity, duty and choice; the push and pull of living in two cultures; and the painful decisions we must make to find our true selves.

Members Reviews:

4-Stars, But I'm Rounding Up...

I liked this book,liked it enough to listen to it 'cover-to-cover,' hence, the 4-stars. It has great characters, Gowda threw conflict after conflict in every chapter to keep you listening, and there was a neat sorta quirkiness and humor in it that added to its humanity.

Still, there was a certain intensity that was lacking that really only turned up in Leena, and quite honestly, only turned up toward the end. The characters, though given much to strive toward (Gowda is an expert plotter), don't have much passion, neither do they have many flaws. There are a few times when things turn dour for Anil, and he berates himself as he's "f*'d up," but I had to go back and re-listen to what happened only to wonder, "Really? Where? What?" It seems that the author wanted his characters to be likable so much so that he really didn't allow them to be human.

And there's this one other glitch, and I mention it only because it was an obvious turning point, that was an unevenly written bit of racially motivated violence that comes off as a total device of convenience that leaves the reader wondering: Now? But they've been together 14 months, and it's happening now?!?

Okay, I'll shut up. Off to the good things; The characters ARE likable, I love the way their formative experiences and relationships are written as children. The descriptive settings are great.