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Eight Cousins  By  cover art

Eight Cousins

By: Louisa May Alcott
Narrated by: Barbara Caruso
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Publisher's summary

Recently orphaned, young Rose Campbell is sent to the "Aunt Hill", where Uncle Alex, her six aunts, and seven boy cousins live in noisy confusion. It is nothing like the quiet girls’ boarding school that has been Rose’s home for the past year. Surrounded by a bewildering array of pets, relatives, and unfamiliar foods, the fragile girl wonders if she will ever get used to this new life. Fortunately, Uncle Alex is her guardian. He keeps the aunts from coddling her too much, and makes sure that she has plenty of time to play outside with her cousins.

Day by day, learning how to care for each of these people, Rose begins to bloom. Eight Cousins is a charming introduction to Louisa May Alcott’s timeless classics, which include Little Women and Little Men. Barbara Caruso’s colorful narration perfectly captures Rose and her extended family.

Public Domain (P)2002 Recorded Books

What listeners say about Eight Cousins

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  • Overall
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Terrific rendition of a beloved children's classic

What made the experience of listening to Eight Cousins the most enjoyable?

It is well performed, and it is a book so beautifully written with such appealing content, it stands up very well to being read aloud--which lesser books do not.

What did you like best about this story?

The ideas on health and healing, education, and women's role in society expressed by Dr. Alec Campbell are remarkably advanced. He would be very much at home in the company of holistic physicians of the modern world and is a perfect model of a "liberated," feminist male. He is extremely kind, generous, nurturing, and attentive to his sickly, heartbroken, 13-year-old, orphaned niece, Rose, the heroine of this novel.

For readers who enjoy stories rooted in family life, the Campbell clan offers a joyful vision of the many pleasures of being a treasured member of a close-knit, extended family.

Which character – as performed by Barbara Caruso – was your favorite?

There were three favorites: Rose, the 13-year-old heroine; Aunt Plenty, Rose's sixty-something great-aunt, and Pokey, a four-year-old little girl. Ms. Caruso is outstanding with female voices of all ages. However, she does not attempt to do male voices authentically, other than to very slightly deepen and roughen her voice to indicate adult males. To be fair, though, in my personal experience, few female narrators do male voices outstandingly, a notable exception being the late Anna Fields (AKA Kate Fleming).

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

It made me both laugh and cry. Rose formed important one-on-one relationships with many different relatives and several friends, but the most significant and moving relationships were Rose and Uncle Alec, Rose and the 15-year-old family maid, Phoebe, and Rose and her 15-year-old cousin Mac. I loved the way Uncle Alec encouraged Rose's innate tendency to compassion, and she found frequent opportunities to express her generosity and kindness as she assisted and nurtured Phoebe and Mac.

Any additional comments?

It was a huge pleasure to re-experience this book, which I so dearly loved in my childhood and shared with my own children, as an audiobook performance. Hearing it narrated by an excellent voice talent greatly enhanced what was already a long-time love affair with this book.

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6 people found this helpful

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Better than I remembered!

If you could sum up Eight Cousins in three words, what would they be?

Full of heart

What was one of the most memorable moments of Eight Cousins?

When they go to the mountains and find an outdoor way of life marvelous.

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

This is my 1st book by Barbara Caruso. There were multiple times while listening in public that I had to choke back a sob or blink away a tear. She is excellent.

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

Uncle Alex's love for his orphaned niece.

Any additional comments?

It is wholesome. No swearing, sex or violence. No taking the Lord's name in vain. Just people being interesting in their thoughts. I think this could be enjoyed by boys and girls.

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4 people found this helpful

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💜💙💚💛🧡❤️A Sweet Tale ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

I was not expecting to enjoy this, I usually listen to exiting story’s and at first this sounded very dull but I was SOOOOO WRONG! I love this story it is a wonderful tale of romance, pranks and altogether a lovely story of friendships!
The narrator Barbara Caruso is Absolutely perfect for this story, her voices give a wonderful feeling to Roses ups and downs.
I definitely would recommend this book!

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Cute Story

While this was a cute story, that was well-performed, I don't know that I would recommend to anyone to run out and read it. It is a fun story for really young girls.

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Most Heartwarming Story

Wonderful story, maybe my favorite being narrated by the best narrator ever!!! Barbara Caruso is so talented with her ability to do so many
Characters and do them justice !

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When nostalgia disappoints

Louisa May Alcott was a favorite author when I was young. Reading her works was a balm to my soul. I looked forward, in these dark times, to revisiting a "favorite aunt" for some soothing. Sadly, this story was not it. There were some pleasant moments, a fun reminder of times past, but unfortunately, the characters were like caricatures. The aunts were treated harshly by the author and the uncle put on a pedestal, it was so unrealistic that I stopped listening almost half way in. I listened longer than was comfortable, hoping it would get better. I love a story with heart, but this was too saccharin for me.

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1 person found this helpful

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Wonderful Family Life!

Louisa May Alcott’s Eight Cousins comes to life in this reading by Barbara Caruso. What a happy lot are these eight cousins!

My teenage daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed this book about an orphaned girl, her bachelor uncle, her many aunts and her wide array of male cousins. Such a delightful story!

And Barbara Caruso did an excellent job narrating and bringing all the delightful characters to life! I highly recommend this book!

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Warm Novel

Great heart warming novel with good morals. Makes me want to be a better aunt and enjoy cousin play times and quarrels!

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Delightful!

A delightful tale of innocence and familial love, which harkens back to a gentler time

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Too Much Fun to Think of It as aClassic

I loved this book as a child so decided to listen now in my middle age. I was surprised by how many thoroughly modern and feminist ideas it contained. The treatment of Fun See is unfortunate but fairly progressive for its time. Rose herself is a model of grit, independence, and all those other traits I want my own children to learn. I will definitely be sharing it with them!

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