Roberta

I was so impressed with Khaled Hosseini's work from The Kite Runner, that I immediately decided to try this book - I wasn't disappointed. The characters are richly drawn and the story is told from their alternating viewpoints.

I was thinking the other day that it's surprising Mr. Hosseini can get into the female mind SO well, and that if he's married, his wife is very lucky : ) He has turned the Afghan way of life in something in which I'm familiar, instead of the mystery that it was to me before. His female leads experience the joys and heartbreaks of life and he is very good at capturing exactly what goes on in their minds and hearts.

One thing I should say is that at times the narrator says things without enough emotion - and she doesn't delineate between the charcters very much with her voice, but she did do a good job.

I just can't recommend this novel enough - you won't be disappointed.

Loved the book - you'll think you're listening to a Stephen King novel. This kid can write. Buy it, you won't be disappointed!

I first read The Good Earth when I was in elementary school and I still have that book in my bookcase. I've read it numerous times and since I wanted to listen to a book that I was familiar with, I picked this one.

Anthony Heald did an outstanding job on this book. He actually sounded Asian while he was narrating, and he felt the parts instead of just reading them. I never knew this was a trilogy until now and I downloaded the next book Sons, but it just isn't the same. It's narrated by someone else and it sounds flat and dull.

As someone who loved this book most of my life, I highly recommend this audible version of The Good Earth. You won't be sorry!

This book was different than I had expected and I found myself skipping over large parts. I don't dislike slow books as long as they are interesting, however I found it really hard to get into it during the first half.

After the shipwreck, I found it much more interesting. I would recommend it, but probably only to people who had seen the movie.

I have always been interested in the Kennedys and found this book to be fascinating, however the author goes into so much detail that at times I found myself skipping a few parts. I'm also interested in history, so believe me, it had to be a LOT of detail to turn me off a bit.

Otherwise extremely well done, I'd recommend it to my friends.

I really recommend this excellent book. Not only did I learn many details about the leprosarium on Kalaupapa, I felt at the end of the book as if I had actually been there. The author was so skilled that I also felt I knew the main character personally.

The book starts in the late 1800's with the main character, Rachel Kalama, at 5 years old. While I was reading, I was horrified to find out that little children who were diagnosed with leprosy at the time were forcefully parted from their families - from everything they had known - and sent to Kalaupapa. The book follows Rachel's journey to the island thru her girlhood, teen years, adult, and old age.

While listening I found it hard to believe over and over again that this book was written by a man. He captured every kind of nuance and thought that was female.

Because of this book I would someday like to visit the island and the area that housed the people with leprosy. It is now a the national park. Very much recommended, you won't regret purchasing it.

I really enjoyed this book and also learned a lot about the history of Australia, plus Ikey Solomon, who was a real person. The novel goes into great detail (sometimes too much detail - I found myself saying, "Come on, just get on with it!" in several places) - but as a whole, I thought it was very good.

There are comments that the novel is anti-Semitic and I went into listening to it with an open mind, but unfortunately I think the comments are true. I found out five years ago that I'm Jewish, so I'm more sensitive to things like that and I was resenting a few of the things he said. I don't know if it was because there was a lot of prejudice in the early days of London and Australia against the Jews - after all, he was very historically accurate - however some of the comments - at least to me - were not necessary. There are racially-biased comments against the Aborigines, but I know that there has been a lot of prejudice against them in the past.

The novel covers a lot of time and I enjoyed it. I would have given it five stars if it wasn't for the too-extensive detail at times, plus the prejudiced remarks.

This book was such a surprise! I didn't expect it to be THIS good, and from an author I've never heard of. I think Stephen King may have some competition in the future. :D

I expected the story to be predictable, and it's been anything but....I never thought it would take the turns it has. The characters are richly developed, and I can very easily see them in my mind. I'm from Los Angeles and the book has captured that area well.

The narrator is also doing a top-notch job. One of the major chracters is a young East Indian woman, and the narrator has the accent down perfectly. This woman is also the comic relief for the book (very witty comments, BTW) and I find myself chuckling whenever "she"'s talking. The narrator makes me feel that there are 6 - 8 more people in the room, and that's quite an accomplishment!

I'm really glad I chose this novel, and I'm wondering if they are eventually going to make it into a movie - it would be a good one.

Highly recommended!!

I'm only a few hours into the book and starting to like it - but wanted to post that the narrator reads SO FAST that she doesn't give the listener time to absorb the material!

If you compare her to say, Julie Harris narrating "West With the Night", where Julie acted out the parts and read the narration so poetically - actually there is no comparison. I find myself not only having problems absorbing the material, I'm also trying to figure out which character is which, because she has pretty much the same voice for all of them. No inflection, just hurried reading.

I'm a constant listener and I've bought a lot of books from Audible. I really hope that feedback on narrators makes a difference, because I'm tired of rejecting books only because of the narrator's poor performance.

I was in the worst mood for the past week, having many problems with my grown son who is living with me at the moment. I thought nothing could cheer me up until I started listening to Andy.

He's hilarious! My favorite part was his letters to his mother when he was a little boy away at camp. The way he describes his mother - and the way he voices her part - is just hysterical. Not only is it funny, it's endearing and it makes you wish you could meet her.

I really recommend this book if you are in the doldrums - it will get you right out of them. Highly recommended!