The narrator has a beautiful accent, but unfortunately, between that and the speed that he sometimes spoke at, I had to buy the book to finish it.

I totally looked forward to finding out what happened - even though the events were sometimes hard to listen to ... i very much enjoyed this book,and would rank it 3.5 out of 5 in comparison to other audio books.

Isobel... I so totally sympathized with her actions, and felt desperately sad for her.

I haven't listened to Noah Taylor before, but found the narration interesting and clear. The accent helps with the storyline too.

Yes, but I wouldn't want an abridged version... it was exciting to come back to.

I found it to be a heart rending story well written and well narrated. I would recommend it.

When a baby appears on the shores of a deserted island off of the coast of Australia, Tom and Isabella provide a warm and comforting home for the infant and Isabella considers the newborn a gift from God since she has had several miscarriages and has no hope for a baby of her own. After a couple of years their lives are cruelly torn apart when they discover the baby's mother, on the mainland, has been desperately searching for the child. As they relinquish the child to the natural mother, Tom and Isabella's lives become a torrent of emotions.

The plot of the novel continues with the gripping despair of Tom and both mothers. They all try to be rational but are downtrodden with of jealousy and fear. It is quite a good but heartbreaking story that any parent can relate to. I listened to it on audio and the narrater's Australian accent was easy to understand but his voice went from strong to a whisper when, I'm assuming, he was trying for effect. This annoyance really took away from the story for me so at a later date I think I would like to read the book instead of listening to it. This happens sometimes between audio and books!

Yes, I have recommended it many times. The story is riveting but at the end somewhat contrived. This is a great book club discussion book. The ethichal dilemma has many ramifications and twists and turns connecting past elements in a compelling way. It reminds me of a Jodi Picoult type story with choices where nobody can win.

I liked the details of the setting, the strength of the characters and the forward movement of the story line. While it seemed a little slow at first, that introduction helped establish the characters for the later parts of the story.

The narrator was poor. He was a mumbler. This has nothing to do wtih his Australian accent, he just did not open his mouth.

Good, fast read. Page turner.

Engaging, thought-provoking.

Good performance, although difficult to hear the changes in volume to emphasize the drama. Still, a good reader, appropriate to the story.

Yes, most any person would love this story. Even though most people would like to have seen the story go in a different direction, it was life.

Tom. He was a wonderful, honest person and so loving to his wife and "daughter".

I liked his acting and made the story quite entertaining.

Tom, again. He was just a wonderful man

I was hard for me to keep my attention on the story as the narrator was very boring and hard to hear at times even though I had volume to the max.

Not sure.

Don't know other narrators.

No

I almost didn't purchase this book because of the reviews of the narrarator, so thankful that I gave it a chance. I loved the book and Mr. Taylor was excellent in projecting the mood of the of the story and the personalities of the characters. Well done.

How well the details were explained...

Hated it

none

Enjoyed listening to the book until the turning point. All the stress is not something I like to have anymore of even if it is in a book. Ending made sense even though I did not like it.

So real...and the narrator was wonderful...brought everything to life in the australian accent. Provided a certain authenticity!