The Invisible Hour

A Novel

De: Alice Hoffman

Narrado por: Jessie Mueller

The latest New York Times best seller from beloved author Alice Hoffman celebrates the enduring magic of books and is a “wonderful story of love and growth” (Stephen King).

One June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia’s mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community—an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden. But how could this be? How could Nathaniel Hawthorne have so perfectly captured the pain and loss that Mia carries inside her?

Through a journey of heartbreak, love, and time, Mia must abandon the rules she was raised with at the Community. As she does, she realizes that reading can transport you to other worlds or bring them to you, and that readers and writers affect one another in mysterious ways. She learns that time is more fluid than she can imagine, and that love is stronger than any chains that bind you.

As a girl Mia fell in love with a book. Now as a young woman she falls in love with a brilliant writer as she makes her way back in time. But what if Nathaniel Hawthorne never wrote The Scarlet Letter? And what if Mia Jacob never found it on the day she planned to die?

From “the reigning queen of magical realism” (Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author), this is the story of one woman’s dream. For a little while it came true.

©2023 Alice Hoffman (P)2023 Simon & Schuster Audio

Such a good read

I have read so many of her books and loved them all. This one hit different. Sometimes we have to end this story to find our next one.

Loved it!

An artful braiding of time, personalities, history, and the impact our choices and words make in our own lives and the lives of others ~ both today and in the future.

Amazing-

I could not put this down! Sumptuous writing and a beautiful blend of fantasy and modern day relevance to current events. Who knew Hawthorne could be a hottie😄

The best one yet of your stories.

A story that transported you back in time weaving the love of books, authors and magic together. Mahalo Alice for honoring the feminine ice again.

Good start…

It started very interesting, then Part 1 ended and Part 2 was just odd. It got very, very, very repetitive and almost pointless and anticlimactic? Part 2 explained nothing at all… just a lot of love, live, make the best of it, mothers love their children over everything else…. Blah, blah, blah…

Beautiful

Alice just gets it. Absolutely loved it. If you like her other work you’ll like it.

Beautiful beginning but then....

(Spoilers) This story has such great potential. But the writing is very disjointed, as if different writers took turns writing it. The character of Ivy drew me in, and the writing at the very beginning is beautiful. But then, the point of view shifts to Ivy's daughter, Mia, and the writing becomes zoomed out. Years of Mia's life fly by with only dry descriptions rather than the intimate portrayal of the characters at the start. However, parts of the book were very engaging. I enjoyed the scenes with the librarian ladies and the descriptions of various libraries, and I even accepted Mia's infatuation with Nathaniel Hawthorn. But then, a big chunk of the book felt like I was reading a biography about him. And then....very suddenly, and without much explanation as to how, Mia travels back in time! And Nathaniel Hawthorn and his "pragmatic" sister all too easily accept that Mia is from the future,
I really wanted to like this book, but the ever-changing points of view, the overstated themes. and the long, unfocused descriptions made it for a frustrating rather than relaxing read. As for the narration, some of the characters' voices were done quite well, but I found the main character's voice grating.

Captivating

I absolutely love this story and the narration. I only was hoping for more in the ending about the antagonist getting his just desserts. Beautifully written.

Well-written cult tale turns to N.Hawthorne fanfic

The first half of this book is fantastic. The characters are interesting and the plot is well driven. The initial storyline is an ode to Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlett Letter". It's not subtle, but the originality in the story makes the references somewhat endearing. It felt like an appropriate ode from one author to another. But PLEASE take heed of the "time travel" descriptor tag for this book. I love fantasy and time travel stories. However, the sharp twist halfway through is so jarring and dissonant it actually made me want to return the book. A realistic, modern-day cult survival tale championing grit turns into a mind boggling, time traveling, parasocial, fanfic love story about Nathaniel Hawthorne.
If I could go back in time, I never would have started this one.

5 stars for the initial storyline
1 star for the sneak-attack, actual storyline
-15 stars for the Dr. Frankenstein-esque stitching of the two storylines together

the similarity between the commune where Mia was raised and the Puritan community

Great story! I really enjoyed it, as I enjoyed The Scarlet Letter many years ago.