Taryn

I listened to the first half of the book and it kept my interest but the second half was boring and dragged and at that point I didn't care which awful, stereotypical character lived or died. There was nothing in any of the characters that made them redeemable. I had to stop listening, couldnt stand any more torture. I disagree with those who said the reader was bad, I think he did a decent job. I believe the problem with this audio was the poor storyline, bad character development and basically that it was a book unworthy of Dennis Lehane who is one of my favorites!

Imagine a world without any of the basic medical tools we have today to diagnose and treat illness.Imagine having to use corpses of criminal for autopsies? Imagine the ignorance and superstition! As a nurse I always find these books fascinating. How did Physicians manage to treat their patients despite the lack of knowledge and lack of resources. How could murders ever be solved? It makes me thankful to live in the present century, and I find it fascinating to read (or listen in this case) to just how difficult everything was in those times.

I think this may be an earlier book by JJackson because it was not even close to her other books in any way. The characters were interesting but the story was flat. Even Ms. Jackson's amazing narration which, truthfully, I could probably enjoy listening to her read the dictionary, didnt save it. I recommend, A Grown Up Kind of Pretty, my favorite.

I enjoyed this book and think it would be a great book club pick. The exploration of grief from the perspective of 100 yrs ago was quite interesting to me as death is now one of our last taboo subjects. The parallel stories of the death of a marriage in the 1960's and the death of a lover in the 1900's was an interesting contrast. This book is all about the choices we make based on the societal norms of the time, grief and how we overcome and grow from it.

I have never lived with an alcoholic so for me this was an eye-opening account of the behavior and self-delusion that goes with this disease. I enjoyed the narration, it was totally realistic and brought the character to life. I would definately recommend it as an interesting analysis of people, what goes on behind closed doors and how you can never judge a person's life and happiness from what you see in their public persona!

Having recently listened to The Chaperone, the topic of the Orphan train intrigued me and I was eager to read more about it. This book contrasts the experience of a modern day "orphan" navigating the foster care system with the experience of a woman who experienced the Orphan Train as a child and how it affected her life. I enjoyed the way the book bounced between each time period drawing parallels between the common problems experienced by the orphaned children. The sadness of being unloved, the personality traits that are developed when you learn to mistrust, the attitudes of society. It also reminded me of The Language of Flowers. If you enjoyed either of these books I think that this would be a great choice. The only downside was the narrator, her narration was great except when she read with an Irish accent which was terrible. However, it didnt detract enough from the story to make it a difficult listening experience

For Masie fans this book does not disappoint. What I really enjoy about this series is that the author doesn't sensationalize with gory details, yet crafts a well thought out mystery plot. She is wonderful at describing the most routine daily life details of this time period, both for the upper and lower classes. I enjoy the fact that over the series of books Maisie is evolving emotionally, confronting her own demons and becoming more self aware. I love the narrator!

The reason I have enjoyed all Elizabeth's Straut's books are because she is amazing at character analysis. I wonder if she has a degree in psychology? She expertly crafts a story and while she does you slowly come to understand what makes each person who they are and why they do what they do. In this book a dysfunctional family is dissected, most of the characters are quite unlikeable but we grow to understand them. You so often wonder how certain roles are "assigned" in families during childhood and continue on throughout the lives of the siblings. The Burgess boys have these assigned roles and only through a major crisis do they finally learn some difficult truths, change their assumptions about themselves and their siblings, grow emotionally and move forward. I think the narrator was excellent, she totally kept my interest. I highly recommend this book.

I would have liked to give this no stars, but that wasn't possible. Thank God this was free. It was just awful. If this is what women want to listen to or read in 2013 its a sad commentary on our world. Pure garbage.

I was not sure what to expect with this book,I purchased it based on the reviews here. I was not disappointed at all. I think the subject was explored with dignity and realism. I was happy that the author did not decide to make the story unreal by writing a Hollywood Happy Ending. The character development of Lou was excellent. It was hopeful despite being sad. The reader was excellent. I would highly recommend this audio

I have been a big fan of Jodi Picoult, despite the fact that in the past few years she seems to be sacrificing quality for quantity. In this book she has gotten her groove back on a horrific subject and handles it with amazing realism! The holocaust story was very well constructed and at some points literally had me in tears. The writing was Jodi at her best! The rest of the book was a disappointment. Perhaps she needed a more honest editor. First of all there were too many unnecessary storylines which just distracted from the important story. Second, her allegorical story/fable was unnecessary and did nothing for the book. Third, it seemed that she borrowed from, The Reader, in that a prisoner survives because of a story/reading. I also think the names she gave her characters are a bit silly-sisters named Sage, Saffron & Pepper - are you kidding me? The readers were all great except for the voice of Misha, I found her intonation annoying.
All in all, I enjoyed listening to this book and I would still recommend it even with the negatives that I have described.