Rosa's Gold

By: Ray Kingfisher

Narrated by: Simon Mattacks, Billie Fulford-Brown

Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Nicole Sutton’s world has been turned upside down. Sixteen and suffering the fallout of a devastating family tragedy, she is forced to move away from her London home to the quiet town of Henley - and a new life she never wanted nor expected.

In the dusty cellar of her strange new house, Nicole stumbles upon a worn old journal left behind by a previous occupant. Inside, through the eyes of a soldier named Mac, she finds herself drawn into a brutally honest memoir of the horrors of war and Auschwitz - and of the life and love Mac had to leave behind.

The more Nicole reads, the more she is able to make sense of her own troubles. Because Mac’s story is so much more than a journal: it is the story of a family fighting for survival in the darkest days of humanity, of hope in the face of persecution. And then there’s the buried gold...

©2016 Ray Kingfisher. (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Frightening and informative the horrors of the prison camps

We all need to know what happened at these camps and never forget! But the love and persistence of Mac was amazing. Beautiful and sad story!

Great Book

This was a great read; I really enjoyed it and I loved how it ended.

WOW, JUST WOW!

This is a fantastic book! The story is great no doubt about it! The narration is wonderful and easy to listen to! I highly recommend this book!

Listened Twice

Loved the way Simon Mattucks does accents.
Story realistic, the romance, the horror of the War.

Female narrator good with male voices. Hard to do. A criticism: lighten up on the American "r", and the word "anything." We say "en- ee-thing." We don't make the "y" a schwa: "en-uh-thing."

Engaging story of love, loss, horrors of war

Rosa's Gold sets its two groups of main characters in alternating chapters. Initially, the two sets of characters seem to have little to do with each other; but as the storyline unfolds, we see how their stories intertwine and influence each other. The first set of characters includes people from England and Italy, accidentally brought together during World War II by acts of personal bravery and defiance of totalitarianism, and follows them through their adult lives lived in the shadow of physical and emotional suffering. The second set of characters is a modern-day British family experiencing devastating loss and grief that drives them apart. While darkened by the horrors of Nazi Germany, the overall theme is one of forgiveness and reconciliation. I found this book easy to listen to, due to the interesting story, well-drawn characters, and good narration.

Emotional story

A gripping and emotional account of an innocent American teenager with good intentions transported into the nightmare of WWII and the horrors of Nazi Germany. It is still a love story amidst the tragedy with a heartwarming ending.

History as I never heard it before.

World War II history often neglects Italy. This book gives just a glance into that history. It is a compelling read.

Treasure, Understanding, Forgiveness

When sixteen-year-old Nicole Sutton discovered the dusty brief case and journal in the cellar of the house that she and her mum had just moved in to, she nearly threw them into the dust bin. First of all, she didn’t want to be there, never wanted to leave the home where she, her mum, dad . . . and younger brother, Darren had lived, happily for so many years. But nothing was the same now. Darren was gone . . . forever . . . and her parents were separated. And it seemed that nothing could make it right. When Nicole wanted to escape, to be alone, she began to peek into the journal . . . the life of the old man who used to live in the house where Nicole and her mother lived now. Slipping into the past, the life of a young British soldier in WWII, as written in his journal, John (Mac) McDonald describes his experiences as an eighteen-year-old who had joined the Light Infantry Division in 1943. Taken prisoner by Italian soldiers and loaded onto a goat truck with other prisoners, Mac eventually escaped when the truck hit rough roads in the forest and crashed. Mac’s experiences with the Italian family, particularly Rosa, who helped him stayed with him the rest of his life, even in Auschwitz, where he nearly died. Hiding away in her room, with Mac’s journal, Nicole found solace from her own miseries, learning about a man that the local rowing team seemed to think was a strange old grump. While living in the home that Nicole and her mum now occupied, Mac had coached the local rowing team, and several of her school friends and their dads knew him. This story of pain, love and loss is written over two time periods, beginning in 1943 and continuing up to 2011. The intertwining of both Mac and Nicole’s stories is most beautiful and rewarding. The conclusion of the story is unexpected and astounding . . . One of the most satisfying listens ever. Don’t miss it!

beautiful story

loved every moment of the story and yes I was surprised at the end. Dont want to spoil the ending but I did get a little sad not knowing Rosa's ending.

Bittersweet story during ww2 and in 1990

I love ray kingfisher Not really familiar with Italy and Nazis under
Mussolini. Tragic outlook for Italian Jews but what a spirit. Enjoyed reading of 17 yr old girl in 1990 and her family dynamics The devastation of divorce. I loved every one of rays character development of all his major characters. Hope you are writing your next book NOW