In the Garden Room

De: Tanya Eby

Narrado por: Christa Lewis

Duración: 6 h y 51 m

Resumen del Editor

It is Chicago. 1910. 11-year-old Lillian March looks over her mother's dead body with a sense of relief.

As a poor woman, her mother, Cora, never had any real choices or happiness in her life. Cora and Lillian flee to the bustling city of Chicago, where she is certain she will have the life of opulence she deserves.

Cora and Lillian face deep hardships in turn-of-the-century Chicago as Cora's mind continues its downward spiral. With no money and no hope for income, Cora sells Lillian to the Garden Room, a brothel, where young girls and desperate women are kept like flowers in a jar.

John March comes looking for his daughter and his wife in an attempt to rescue them, but even if he finds them alive, is rescue really possible?

In the Garden Room is an exploration of madness, desire and two women's choices in a time when they weren't really allowed to choose.

©2016 Tanya Eby (P)2016 Blunder Woman Productions

Cherries, sausages and morels

Would you listen to In the Garden Room again? Why?

I would and I will. It's important to go back to the beginning once you know the end. Doing that might be the best part for me. There's detail in Tanya's story. I'm sure I missed important tidbits on my first listen. It's easy to do. I was excited to see where the story would go next.

What other book might you compare In the Garden Room to and why?

I don't know of another book to compare it to. It's really original and a great book to get wrapped up in.

Which character – as performed by Christa Lewis – was your favorite?

Cora! I've never seen Mommie Dearest but from what I've heard, she seems very Mommie Dearest. Christa did a wonderful job narrating Tanya's story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did get a laugh at Cora's dialogue because she herself was so ridiculous and controlling at times. "Eat your sausages!"

Any additional comments?

Being from Michigan, loving history, and being transported to Old Chicago, In The Garden Room is a great audiobook. It's not your momma's love story. Listen to it!

Painfully Beautiful Writing and Narration

The story is dark, touching, incredibly vivid, historically detailed, gut wrenching, and cathartic. I couldn't escape from the world created by Eby's masterful imagery and characterizations. Christa Lewis brings those characters with their complex emotions to full life with subtle, but powerful skill

Heartbreaking

Would you consider the audio edition of In the Garden Room to be better than the print version?

I'm sure that it is! Christa does a fantastic job with all the characters and she gives depth to an already immersive story

What was one of the most memorable moments of In the Garden Room?

There are a lot of memorable moments in this book. Without me giving anything away I'll say that I loved the ending...

Have you listened to any of Christa Lewis’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this was my first time listening to Christa but it won't be the last. I enjoyed her performance tremendously and I'll look for more books read by her!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but it is so dark and there are some very unsettling things happening in thisstory that I had to stop listening from time to time, in order to clear my head

Any additional comments?

I've been listening to Tanya Eby performing lots of audiobooks over the years, but I never could imagined that she can write such immersive stories! In The Garden Room is a great book, with deep characters, set in troubled times and it tackle some very sensitive subjects...

Tanya has the abillity to make you feel that you are there, in the story, that you can see in your mind's eye what she describes, you get to know the characters and you can actually emphasize with them and feel their pain...

She paints the 1910's Chicago with such vividness that you may be strangled by the fog and overpowered by the raw smells emanating from the fisheries and meat processing factories...

Beware, this is not a book for the faint of heart, there's drama, abuse, lost hope, sex, heartbreak and lots of tears...

I hope to see Tanya Eby writing a Fantasy book, I'm sure she can do a great job with that genre...

Congrats to Tanya Eby for a fantastic story and to Christa for a perfect and well acted performance

Please vote Yes below if you found this review helpful and read more reviews on theAudiobookBlog dot com

Thank you!
Victor

Hard subject done superbly

Where does In the Garden Room rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Among the books I've listened to in the last year, it's in the top 5. Performance by the narrator was especially good.

What did you like best about this story?

Eby tackled a difficult subject matter but did it in such a way that it felt real. No gratuitous sex, but that which was included moved the story forward and drew the listener in.

What about Christa Lewis’s performance did you like?

There were both a variety of characters to voice, as well as a story arc which changed two of the characters from the beginning to the end. Lewis captured that change very well and made the listener feel the resignation of choices and consequences.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, there is one particular scene involving a young girl and her first night working at a brothel (under duress). It was very well written and very well acted, and was extremely poignant and difficult to listen to.