The Tide Between Us

The O'Neill Trilogy, Book 1

De: Olive Collins

Narrado por: Jack Nolan

1821: Among the thousands of Irish deportees to the Caribbean British Colonies is a 10-year-old Irish boy, Art O’Neill. As an indentured servant on a sugar plantation in Jamaica, Art gradually acclimatizes to the exotic country and the unfamiliar customs of the African slaves.

When the new heirs to the plantation arrive from Ireland, they resurrect the ghosts of brutal injustices against Art. He bides his time and hides his abhorrence from his new master by channeling his energy into his work. During those years, he prospers, acquires land, sees his colored children freed after emancipation as he takes us on a multi-generational historical saga.

Eventually, Art is promised seven gold coins for seven decades of service. He doubts his master will part with the coins. The morning Art sets out to claim his gratuity, he ignores his sense of foreboding that he may not return home alive.

Ireland, 1991: One hundred years later, a skeleton is discovered beneath a fallen tree on the grounds of Lugdale Estate. By its side is a gold coin minted in 1870. Yseult, the owner of the estate, watches as events unfold, fearful of the long-buried truths that may emerge about her family’s past and its links to the slave trade. As the skeleton gives up its secrets, Yseult realizes she too can no longer hide.

Inspired by the real story of 2,000 Irish children deported to Jamaica and the statistics that 25 percent of Jamaican citizens claim Irish ancestry. The Tide Between Us is a powerful novel documenting true historical events and the resilience of the human spirit.

©2018 Olive Collins (P)2021 Olive Collins

Good story but many characters

Hard to remember characters that change names. Back and forth from one decade to another

Most important: Reader paused for long periods of time at awkward spots. I hope the next book has a different reader. Music before and ending chapters was loud.

Not for me

The story didn’t grab me, and the reader was too formal. He seemed to pause at the end of lines rather than the at end of sentences.

Wonderful book

I enjoyed the topic of this book because I enjoy learning history. I recommend this to those who want to know more about Jamaica and history. It’s well written and very interesting.

Slow, with little to keep the reader engaged.

Maybe it was the narration, which was bad (sometimes wondered if it was AI?), but it was just a slow story, and eventually I lost interest and stopped listening. Unrealized potential.

Very confusing

I had to listen to the story three times to connect the dots. Maybe I’m slow. It would’ve been nice each time they changed eras or dates they would’ve let us know what time They were in. The reader sounded like a computer that had no inflections or emotions. There were stops in the middle of sentences for no reason. I think if I had read the book I would’ve liked it better but didn’t have the time.

Who knew there were Irish slaves in Jamaica?

Lots of twists and turns in this historical saga about Irish children brought on slave ships to Jamaica. Interesting tale.

Great Story; So-So Narration

This was a good historical fiction story based on unfortunately factual events. I liked the progression through the generations. I thought the reader wasn’t the best. He read and pronounced ok but had little inflection. Good times and bad we’re all portrayed with the same monotone. Also, it was clear when he had taken breaks because he’d come back with voices that didn’t match the characters he portrayed in the last segment. I honestly wondered if different actors were taking turns reading it or if he had moved onto another character mid paragraph because the accent changed too. Despite the narration, I liked the story.

Wonderful story - horrible narration

The story was enlightening and the history was quite accurate. Characters were brought to life throughout the story. Unfortunately, the narration was absolutely horrible. Pauses between phrases. The speed of speech changed often. I’ve never rated a narrator negatively and have listen to hundreds of audiobooks, but this was painful to listen to. The story captivated me so I couldn’t stop listening, but it was not an enjoyable experience.

compelling story

This is a fascinating story about how our traits are not new to the world, but shared by family that span generations and sometimes vast oceans, too. It's a story of good overcoming evil and happiness disregarding wealth to thrive. For me, the performance wasn't awful as some reviews were detailed here. I greatly enjoyed listening to it and tried to make free time during the day to get further along in the story.

Great Story and Great narration!

I thought the narrator was great, and the story is well done.
I almost didn’t listen after some reviews said that the audio version was terrible.