In This Hospitable Land

De: Lynmar Brock Jr.

Narrado por: David Baker

When the Germans invade Belgium in 1940, chemistry professor André Sauverin fears the worst. His colleagues believe their social and political positions will protect them during the occupation, but André knows better. He has watched Hitler’s rise to power and knows the Nazis will do anything to destroy their enemies. For the Sauverins are Jews, non-practicing, yes, but that won’t matter to the Germans - or to the Belgians desperate to protect themselves by informing on their neighbors. And so André and his brother Alex take their parents, wives, and children and flee south.

But when France falls to the Nazis, the refugees are caught in a rural farming community where their only hope for survival is to blend in with the locals. Fortunately, the Sauverins have come to Huguenot country, settled by victims of religious persecution who risk their own lives to protect the Jewish refugees and defy the pro-Nazi government. And as the displaced family grows to love their new neighbors, André and Alex join forces with the French Resistance to help protect them.

Based on one family’s harrowing true story of survival, In This Hospitable Land is an inspirational novel about courage and the search for home in the midst of chaos.

©2011 Lynmar Brock, Jr. (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

A compelling story destroyed by the narration

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narrator! The compelling subject matter and prose was completely destroyed for me by the narrator's butchering of the French language and accent! I couldn't get past the first hour... thoroughly disappointed!

What three words best describe David Baker’s voice?

Well-modulated, emotive... I can't think of anything else.

Any additional comments?

I am a French-speaking Canadian, and while I don't expect perfection in accent, I do expect at least a passable one. The pronunciation of the name "Sauverin" was occasionally "Sove-er-on" and sometimes "Sove-er-an" (the latter is closer to correct) as an example... I wish I could like this book, but I will be buying the Kindle instead.

LOVED IT! Not your ordinary WWII Jewish Experience

Would you listen to In This Hospitable Land again? Why?

Yes, and I intend to, because I usually get nuances that I missed the first time.

What other book might you compare In This Hospitable Land to and why?

I can't think of another book like this, because most stories of Jews during the war concern concentration camps, hiding in attics/basements or both for the duration, and this one is different. They were hardly comfortable, and they were most definitely in a form of hiding, but in a way not commonly heard about. I loved this perspective.

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

I am not an expert on any narrator, but I consider the highest compliment I can pay any reader is that I did not notice him or her. If you read to me in a way that brings me the story, not the storyteller - you have done a good thing. This was done well. I knew when men were speaking as opposed to women, but did not notice a strangeness that some give off when they try to "act" the part instead of just giving an appropriate "impression" of a character. (For a bad example, listen to the sample of 50 Shades of Gray when she tried to do a man's voice - AWFUL) This was very Well Done.

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

No extremes, though there were surprises and hard parts to imagine living through, but it was a story of war, and if war were not horrible, they would never end.

Any additional comments?

Loved it, would buy it again, time well spent.

Great historical perspective

First let me say that this is a great listen! If you are interested in a story of ww2 France that shows the heroism of ordinary people, you will not go wrong! I went to amazon and looked up this book, and was delighted to see six pictures of the main characters and the places they lived, that was wonderful! This is not sophisticated writing and probably could have used a little more editing, but it is a solid heartfelt story of the author's wife's family's experiences. This book is also priced so reasonably for it's length, it is a great value, so I was quite impressed by the quality of the research. I would have loved a little more of what happened to everyone at the end, but that is because I really didn't want it to end, and didn't want to leave these people just yet. But I would have thought that, even if there had been more. Get this book! You will enjoy it!

Outstanding! Inspiring story.

I was held involved throughout by this inspiring true story of a courageous family group coping with amazing fortitude throughout the long years of the war. Well written and very well performed. Excellent value for money. Highly recommended.