Before I Met You

By: Lisa Jewell

Narrated by: Imogen Church, Sofia Greenacre

Length: 17 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

London, 1920. Arlette works in Liberty by day and by night is caught up in a glamorous whirl of parties, clubs, cocktails and jazz. But when tragedy strikes she flees the city, never to return.

More than half a century later, in the grungy mid-'90s, her granddaughter Betty arrives in London.

She can't wait to begin her new life. But before she can do so, she must find the mysterious woman named in her grandmother's will.

What she doesn't know is that her search will uncover the heartbreaking secret that changed her grandmother's life and might also change hers for ever.... 

©2012 Lisa Jewell (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Another winner from Lisa Jewell

I was almost put off by the review that said this was full of sex and dirty language but being a long time Lisa Jewell fan, I decided to buy it anyway. I am not sure what century the other reviewer was from but there is very little sex and certainly not graphically described and whilst there is some use of the f-word, it is only consistent with the characters, one of whom is a rock musician, and it is certainly not gratuitous.

The plot is not super original - finding out the secrets of someone after death - but I was quite hooked, wanting to know the outcome, which was not predictable at all. I found this a very enjoyable read with convincing characterisation from the narrators with just the kind of easy story telling that I expect from this writer.

A bit of a disappointment

I really enjoyed Lisa Jewels book "The night she disappeared" & thought to try another one of her's. Gosh I struggled with this one!! For one it started out SLOW & I nearly gave up after a few chapters but was waiting for the 'magic' to happen, which alas never quite did. I also didn't care for the profanity used in the 'modern day' part of the story; I struggled to merge the character of the "old Arlette" with young Arlette....and while the narration throughout was quite good, I found young Arlette's voice quite irritating.
Not sure if I'll try another of her books.

Just brilliant!

This the second book I’ve read for this author and I must say it did not disappoint. Character development on point and plot that could easily translate to modern motion picture production.

So upset it had to end!!!

I absolutely LOVED this book. Oh my goodness Lisa Jewell, I just lost 2 days of my life because of you, but it was worth every wonderful listening moment! I feel too emotional that its over to write any more. If you're unsure whether to download this but want a beautifully written story with excellent narration please, please, please do... you won't regret it.

Fabulous!!

Thank you Lisa Jewell! Finally a book that made my heart sing listening to it. I had been having a run of bad ones and so this book has restored my faith. Beautifully written and atmospheric. I loved the characters too. Highly recommend.

All a bit overdone and implausible

Firstly I found the story very implausible and the characters difficult to relate to. The most disappointing element of this audio book however was the narrator covering Arlettes life. It is so “over performed” I felt it distracted me from the story and mood of the book. Surely we should be more aware of the writing and construction of the novel. It is not a play. The made up voices were utterly annoying.

Over-acted

An enjoyable story but one narrator really over-egged her part horribly! I cringed at times.

Just gave up...... :(

I love Lisa Jewell's books. I've read/listened to a number now....but I just could not finish this one. I found the two narrators incredibly irritating: pronunciation, delivery, intonation, timing and overall performance just not up to standard (there were even some audible background rustlings, poor editing?) The more I listened, the more I couldn't...until I finally gave up with still 14hrs of audible left to go. Nothing about the story kept me engaged, and I didn't want to know what was coming, I was bored and irritated. What happened with this book, rushed production, poor checking? Really disappointed overall.... I rarely give up on a book, but sadly had to on this one.

Started slow but wow, what a story

This is my 3rd Lisa Jewel book and I will now seek a fourth. The middle section and end were stronger than the beginning. The narrator reads slowly but was bearable. Absolutely loved it.

Very slow

Painfully slow, very simple story line. 1920s narrator was awful!! Real shame for this author normally brilliant and captivating!

Narration was a distraction from enjoyment of story

Love Lisa Jewell books and this is a good story but the 1920s narrator really spoiled this book for me . I kept listening as I was engaged in what was happening but this narrator is really over the top .

One of the narrators is dire

An average story, that should nevertheless have been somewhat enjoyable, but any enjoyment was destroyed by the awful performance of one of the narrators (the narrator for the 1920s set chapters). Her voice is awful, her accents are awful, her intonation is awful, her cadence is awful. She should find other work. Perhaps children’s entertainer??

What a journey!

It started a bit slow but got me really gripped and I couldn’t stop listening! What a story! and the narrators did an excellent job in bringing the characters to life. Absolutely loved it!!