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Brass
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Thérèse Plummer, Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
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Publisher's summary
“A fierce, big-hearted, unflinching debut”* novel about mothers and daughters, haves and have-nots, and the stark realities behind the American Dream
*Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere
Winner of the Georgia Author of the Year award for first novel
Named one of the best books of the year by San Francisco Chronicle and Real Simple.
A waitress at the Betsy Ross Diner, Elsie hopes her nickel-and-dime tips will add up to a new life. Then she meets Bashkim, who is at once both worldly and naïve, a married man who left Albania to chase his dreams - and wound up working as a line cook in Waterbury, Connecticut. Back when the brass mills were still open, this bustling factory town drew one wave of immigrants after another. Now it’s the place they can’t seem to leave. Elsie, herself the granddaughter of Lithuanian immigrants, falls in love quickly, but when she learns that she’s pregnant, Elsie can’t help wondering where Bashkim’s heart really lies, and what he’ll do about the wife he left behind.
Seventeen years later, headstrong and independent Luljeta receives a rejection letter from NYU and her first-ever suspension from school on the same day. Instead of striking out on her own in Manhattan, she’s stuck in Connecticut with her mother, Elsie - a fate she refuses to accept. Wondering if the key to her future is unlocking the secrets of the past, Lulu decides to find out what exactly her mother has been hiding about the father she never knew. As she soon discovers, the truth is closer than she ever imagined.
Told in equally gripping parallel narratives with biting wit and grace, Brass announces a fearless new voice with a timely, tender, and quintessentially American story.
Praise for Brass
“Lustrous...a tale alive with humor and gumption, of the knotty, needy bond between a mother and daughter...[Brass] marks the arrival of a writer whose work will stand the test of time.” (O: The Oprah Magazine)
“An exceptional debut novel, one that plumbs the notion of the American Dream while escaping the clichés that pursuit almost always brings with it...[Xhenet] Aliu delivers a living, breathing portrait of places left behind.” (The Boston Globe)
“The writing blazes on the page.... So much about the book is also extraordinarily timely, especially when it focuses on class and culture, and what they really mean.” (San Francisco Chronicle)
“Aliu is witty and unsparing in her depiction of the town and its inhabitants, illustrating the granular realities of the struggle for class mobility.” (The New Yorker)
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Great Writer, Great Narrator ! Loved it!
- By Ms. Critic on 05-30-09
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The Turner House
- By: Angela Flournoy
- Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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The Turners have lived on Yarrow Street for over 50 years. Their house has seen 13 children grown and gone - and some returned; it has seen the arrival of grandchildren, the fall of Detroit's East Side, and the loss of a father. The house still stands despite abandoned lots, an embattled city, and the inevitable shift outward to the suburbs. But now, as ailing matriarch Viola finds herself forced to leave her home and move in with her eldest son, the family discovers that the house is worth just a 10th of its mortgage.
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The narrator's performance made the difference.
- By KT on 06-11-15
By: Angela Flournoy
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She's Come Undone
- By: Wally Lamb
- Narrated by: Linda Stephens
- Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Meet Dolores Price. She's 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallomars, potato chips, and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally rolls into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she's determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before really going belly-up.
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Really disappointing narrator!
- By Jessica Williams on 01-21-12
By: Wally Lamb
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Lifted by the Great Nothing
- By: Karim Dimechkie
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Max doesn't remember his mother, who was murdered by burglars before they emigrated from Beirut to New Jersey. He lives with his father, Rasheed, who is enamored of his concept of American culture - baseball and barbeques - and tries to shed his Lebanese heritage completely.
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Excellent
- By Cheyenne on 06-13-15
By: Karim Dimechkie
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If It Ain’t One Thing
- By: Cheryl Robinson
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Cheryl Robinson, a bright voice in African-American fiction, delivers a fresh tale of love in the modern world. Porter is a handsome Detroit firefighter who just got burned by his cheating girlfriend. Winona is a single mom who is getting by despite an old secret that haunts her. When Porter and Winona meet, they must face their pasts to allow their present romance to grow.
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Good listen
- By Brad on 06-29-10
By: Cheryl Robinson
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A Necessary End: A Novel
- By: Holly Brown
- Narrated by: Khristine Hvam, James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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At nineteen Leah bears a remarkable resemblance to the young woman Adrienne once was. Which is why Adrienne knows the baby Leah is carrying is meant to be hers. But Leah's got ideas of her own: Her baby's going to get a life in California; why shouldn't she? All she wants is to live in Adrienne's house for a year after the baby's born and get a fresh start. It seems like a small price for Adrienne to pay to get their baby. And with Gabe suddenly onboard, what could possibly go wrong?
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Long time audible listener.
- By Cherith DuBois on 07-11-15
By: Holly Brown
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Marrow
- By: Tarryn Fisher
- Narrated by: Audra Pagano
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Margo is not like other girls. She lives in a derelict neighborhood called the Bone, in a cursed house, with her cursed mother, who hasn't spoken to her in over two years. She lives her days feeling invisible. It's not until she develops a friendship with her wheelchair-bound neighbor, Judah Grant, that things begin to change. When a neighborhood girl, seven-year-old Neveah Anthony, goes missing, Judah sets out to help Margo uncover what happened to her. What Margo finds changes her, and with a new perspective on life she's determined to find evil and punish it.
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HUH?? I'm so confused LOL
- By ❤️Cyndi Marie❤️🎧Audiobook Addicts🎧 on 09-15-16
By: Tarryn Fisher
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The Daisy Children
- A Novel
- By: Sofia Grant
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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When Katie Garrett gets the news that she’s received an inheritance from the grandmother she hardly knew, it couldn’t have come at a better time. She flees Boston and travels to rural Texas. There, she’s greeted by her distant cousin Scarlett. Friendly and flamboyant, Scarlett couldn’t be more different from sensible Katie. And as they begin the task of sorting through their grandmother’s possessions, they discover letters and photographs that uncover the hidden truths about their shared history, and the long-forgotten tragedy of the New London school explosion of 1937 that binds them.
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Multigenerational storyline lacked dignity
- By John F. Oldani, Jr. on 06-07-24
By: Sofia Grant
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Get Lucky
- By: Katherine Center
- Narrated by: Morgan Hallett
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Filled with wit and heart, Get Lucky by Katherine Center explores the deep bonds of sisterhood. Sarah Harper’s whole world revolved around her job at a New York advertising agency before an email snafu got her fired. Now she’s seeking refuge at her sister Mackie’s home in Houston. But Mackie, who’s unable to get pregnant, is also down-and-out these days. So Sarah decides to do something good and becomes a surrogate mother.
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Finding what matters most in life
- By bizymom7 on 10-12-24
By: Katherine Center
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The Opposite of Maybe
- By: Maddie Dawson
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Jonathan and Rosie have been together so long they finish each other's sentences - so when he (finally) proposes and asks her to move across the country with him, everyone is happily surprised. But when things suddenly unravel, Rosie sends Jonathan packing and moves back home with Soapie, the irascible, opinionated grandmother who raised her.
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Well written book. The characters grow on you~
- By chatteycathi on 08-01-18
By: Maddie Dawson
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Domestic Violets
- A Novel
- By: Matthew Norman
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
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Tom Violet always thought that by the time he turned 35, he’d have everything going for him. Fame. Fortune. A beautiful wife. A satisfying career as a successful novelist. A happy dog to greet him at the end of the day. The reality, though, is far different. He’s got a wife, but their problems are bigger than he can even imagine. And he’s written a novel, but the manuscript he’s slaved over for years is currently hidden in his desk drawer while his father, an actual famous writer, just won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His career, such that it is, involves mind-numbing corporate buzzwords....
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What a rollicking ride!
- By Pamela Harvey on 08-13-11
By: Matthew Norman
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Exclusively Yours
- By: Shannon Stacey
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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When Keri Daniels’ editor finds out she has previous carnal knowledge of reclusive best-selling author Joe Kowalski, she gives Keri a choice: get an interview or get a new job. Joe’s never forgotten the first girl to break his heart, so he’s intrigued to hear Keri’s back in town—and looking for him. Despite his intense need for privacy, he’ll grant Keri an interview if it means a chance to finish what they started in high school.
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Just OK
- By GH on 01-07-16
By: Shannon Stacey
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The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club
- True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life
- By: Laurie Notaro
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Introducing Laurie Notaro, the leader of the Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club. Every day she fearlessly rises from bed to defeat the evil machinations of dolts, dimwits, and creepy boyfriends - and that's before she even puts on a bra. For the past 10 years, Notaro has been entertaining Phoenix newspaper readers with her wildly amusing autobiographical exploits and unique life experiences.
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Sweet and funny
- By Julia Valentin on 12-19-20
By: Laurie Notaro
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The Secret Side of Empty
- By: Maria E. Andreu
- Narrated by: Eileen Stevens
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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What's it like to be undocumented? High school senior M.T. knows all too well. With graduation and an uncertain future looming, she must figure out how to grow up in the only country she's ever called home... a country in which she's "illegal". M.T. was born in Argentina and brought to America as a baby without any official papers. And as questions of college, work, and the future arise, M.T. will have to decide what exactly she wants for herself, knowing someone she loves will unavoidably pay the price for it.
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Heavy topics handled well but just fell short 4 me
- By AudioBookHoe on 07-30-17
By: Maria E. Andreu
What listeners say about Brass
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Crystal Ramirez
- 04-21-23
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
This was a beautiful and well told story. Got really into it, the cultural narrative was deeply moving.
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- Greg Dunn
- 12-28-22
Wonderful novel for themes, pacing, places, people
I connected with this novel for the following reasons: I'm a CT guy who knew all the places including a taste of the culture and flavor of every location (including the good-bad-ugly). I'm an NYU grad who connected with the character whose application was rejected (thankfull I went there on scholarship). I loved the socio-economic-political backdrop of all scenes and the intricated development of all characters. I felt like I was there in Waterbury CT on the road to Texas and everwhere in between , The book transported me to the factories where I have worked and the diners where I ate. This is truly the sign of a great author. Xhenet is an inspiration for my novel which will launch in 2023 with similar themes baked into my story featuring the everyday life of everyday people. I'm at www.dunnwriteswell.com and hope to write as well!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Gigi
- 02-15-23
How one family’s story is the story of one town
A beautiful story about one multi-generation family is a small town in Massachusetts. Waves of immigrants come and go, but broken disfunctional patterns repeat themselves.
Follow me @IhaveTsundoku
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1 person found this helpful
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- E Cabrera
- 02-27-18
Engaging
Clearly and passionately narrated. Fascinating story that holds your attention. Great story while learning a bit more of American history.
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2 people found this helpful
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- colin mcginnis
- 02-10-18
Brilliant Writing!
What did you love best about Brass?
Written in parallel narratives of mother and daughter, and the daughter's story is written in second person. Sounds crazy, but it works. You won't have many opportunities to read first rate fiction in second person. We follow characters through bleak circumstance deftly described, immersed in the plight of Albania in the 90's and the reality of crumbling American dreams wading through broken promises. The pain and resilience needed to endure is etched into your mind.
What about Lauren Fortgang and Therese Plummer ’s performance did you like?
Narration was great.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Jessica S
- 01-29-19
What a great book
I really enjoyed this book. I worked in Waterbury, so I knew some of the places. But it was such a compelling story. Some books that switch back and forth between narrators are confusing or tedious. I really liked this.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Pamela Jackson
- 03-04-18
First Novel is a Success
For this being a firstvnovel, it was very well written and the narration was great
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4 people found this helpful
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- Sharlotte
- 04-11-23
Fantastic Writing and Narration
Finally, an author with a clever wit and intelligence. I'm not quite finished yet but still compelled to review because I love the style of writing and the perfect narration to match. It's fun to come across a book where the story itself is actually secondary (although I loved the story as well) because it's just a pleasure to listen to /read how the author delivers their thoughts to it's audience. When they have this gift, I willingly devour their entire catalogue of works. I hope there are more to come from this promising author and that she keeps her narrator who does her work justice.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jessica
- 06-16-23
Solid
I love a good coming of age story especially when it deals with mothers &daughters. The writing & dialogue was good and the reading was good as well.
I thought the reading for Elise was stronger then Luljeta. Overall a touching story & worth the credit
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1 person found this helpful
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- Christine
- 12-24-21
Not that great
Don’t know why this book got such good reviews. It struck the same tone the entire time and got very tiresome
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1 person found this helpful