The Secret Chord

De: Geraldine Brooks

Narrado por: Paul Boehmer

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of People of the Book, Year of Wonders and March comes a unique and vivid novel that retells the story of King David's extraordinary rise to power and fall from grace.

It's 1000 BC. The Second Iron Age. The time of King David. Anointed as the chosen one when just a young shepherd boy, David will rise to be king, grasping the throne and establishing his empire. But his journey is a tumultuous one, and the consequences of his choices will resound for generations.

In a life that arcs from obscurity to fame, he is by turns hero and traitor, glamorous young tyrant and beloved king, murderous despot and remorseful, diminished patriarch. His wives love and fear him, his sons will betray him. It falls to Natan, the courtier and prophet who both counsels and castigates David, to tell the truth about the path he must take.

With stunning originality, acclaimed author Geraldine Brooks offers us a compelling portrait of a morally complex hero from this strange age - part legend, part history.

Full of drama and richly drawn detail, The Secret Chord is a vivid story of faith, family, desire and power that brings David magnificently alive.

©2015 Geraldine Brooks (P)2015 Hachette Australia Pty Ltd

Reseñas de la Crítica

"A page turner...Brooks is a master at bringing the past alive...in [her]skillful hands the issues of the past echo our own deepest concerns: love and loss, drama and tragedy, chaos and brutality." (Alice Hoffman, The Washington Post)
"Brooks evokes times and place with keenly drawn detail...with the verve of an adroit storyteller...Ambitious and psychologically astute." ( Publisher’s Weekly)
"This is the original Game of Thrones…[Brooks provides] vivid characterizations…each of the members of [David’s] court comes into sharp relief as they play a part in David’s rise and fall.” ( Miami Herald)
"Thundering, gritty, emotionally devastating reconsideration of the story of King David.” ( New York Times Book Review)
"Mesmerising" ( The Australian Women’s Weekly)

lyrical, haunting, compelling

What did you love best about The Secret Chord?

it transports the reader to a time long past and reaquaints with characters that are familiar and archetypal. However, these characters are not merely shadowy images, but compelling men and women who struggle with the bloody whims of their their time. Beautifully written and great story telling.

What did you like best about this story?

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

I will seek out other performances - it was superb

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

David's realisation of the gravity of his wrongdoing

A Boaring Dirge.

What disappointed you about The Secret Chord?

Historically well researched with rich characters but the story line was disjointed and difficult to follow.

Has The Secret Chord turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, I love historical books so long as they are not written in such a boring way.

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

No.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Very disappointed as the premis seemed so promising.