The Time In Between

A Novel

By: Maria Duenas

Narrated by: Zilah Mendoza

Length: 21 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

The thrilling, internationally bestselling novel about a haute couture seamstress who becomes an undercover spy for the British Secret Service during World War II.

A #1 bestseller in Spain with more than 1.5 million copies sold, The Time In Between has taken readers by storm with its unforgettable tale of adventure, tragedy, love, and war. Readers will fall in love with MarÍa DueÑas’s dazzlingly inspiring heroine, Sira Quiroga.

©2011 Maria Duenas (P)2011 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

"A wonderful novel, in the old and good tradition, with intrigue, love, mystery and tender, audacious and clean-cut characters." (Mario Vargas Llosa, recipient of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature)

How can a novel be both cruel and tender, dark and luminous all at the same time, and keep the reader glued to its pages with a complex, captivating narrative? MarÍa DueÑas's novel manages to make this possible with a tale that is destined to become a literary classic." (Javier Sierra, bestselling author of The Secret Supper and The Lady in Blue)

"The Time in Between is a magnificent novel that flawlessly brings together history and intrigue. Sira Quiroga – the seamtress – won’t be easily forgotten.” (Juan GÓmez-Jurado, author of The Moses Expedition)

Story Good, Narration Terrible

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Zilah Mendoza?

Anyone else. Her cadence was all wrong, pronunciations full of errors. She spoke in monosyllables. It was very hard to concentrate on the story.

Terrible narration

Mary Sue seamstress becomes a successful spy and gets her dreamy man in the end. Nothing wrong with that story, I suppose, though many of the details are laughable (British intelligence in WWII provides the heroine with a fake passport with her actual birthday on which her new name is just her old name spelled backward? Really?!)

But the most grating thing by far is the dreadful narration. No voice characterizations, halting delivery that sounds like a high schooler reading to the class, frequent mispronunciation of words... It was hard to finish, not because of the story but because of the reader. It’s probably much better as a book book than as an audio book.

Woman's story of perseverance and courage….

I hated this book to end. From the very beginning, the story held my interest. A woman's story told in a woman's voice. Nothing fake here. The main character is a woman, written by a woman who understands that the unfortunate decisions we make when young, will have ramifications for the rest of our lives. And yet there is spunk and courage, and grit and perseverance and luck that also matter in how a life turns out. The story line follows a woman of Spanish origin through the turbulent time of Spanish unrest prior to World War II. Do yourself a favor and allow this story to build your own resiliency and hope, knowing that perseverance will help you make a life worth living.

A wonderful adventure poorly narrated.

I was both elated and sad when this book ended. Sad because I really loved the story, the locations and their descriptions, the intrigue, and the history. I was elated because the narrator was terrible which made it difficult to listen to. Several times I almost stopped because of it. She seemed very flat, unrehearsed—as if she was surprised that the next word was one she did not expect—and she mispronounced many words. I do think the translation wasn’t the best either but that could be because I am from the U.S. and the translator is a Brit. But I do think some of choice of words was rather showy—impervious overused. I recommend the book highly but read it. Don’t listen.

Excellent read/ listen.

Story moved along seamlessly and without any insignificant information to draw out the story. I didn't find myself anticipating what was about to happen, but, just enjoy the story.

Fascinating storyline. Great read!

I loved the fact that many characters were based on real people. Even though this was a long book, it went by in a flash.

Every thing about this book was great.

What a great story. I had pushed this one around like a kid with peas on their plate, but I was so wrong. I couldn't put it down and I loved that she was of Spanish decent. The narrator was perfect and took me right along side to see every move and twist.

Surprisingly magnificent

Not just a spy book. A Bildungsroman and historical fiction with the excitement of a spy novel at the end. The start has a Gentleman in Moscow elegance and the end has a Kate Quinn worthy excitement. Just the right amount of love story. The book is long and it is a treat. I am obsessed and you will be too.

Engrossing and captivating

The story sucked me in and I was unable to stop reading. I alternated between my kindle and audible to finish this wonderful book.

Beautiful story, horrible performance

I loved this book. The story was entertaining and beautifully written. I only found the Audible version in English, so decided to hear it anyways, even though I was hoping to hear it in Spanish. I speak English, Spanish and Portuguese and the performance in this English version was a great disappointment. It would hurt to hear the narrator try to say the words in Spanish or Portuguese. It was almost impossible to understand it. She tried, I believe, to say these words in the accent of the language and what she actually does is say a word incomprehensible. A real shame because the book is beautiful and there were times I couldn’t enjoy it because of the narration.