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Marking Time  By  cover art

Marking Time

By: Elizabeth Jane Howard
Narrated by: Jill Balcon
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Publisher's summary

At Home Place, the windows are blacked out and food is becoming scarce as a new generation of Cazalets takes up the story. Louise dreams of being a great actress, Clary is an aspiring writer, while Polly, is burdened with knowledge and the need to share it. This is the sequel to "The Light Years".
©1999 Elizabeth Jane Howard (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Marking Time

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Gentle, but Compelling

I have enjoyed both this book and its predecessor in the quartet, _The Light Years_, for its range of characters--mostly sweet and kind people who are flawed in relatable ways. The narrator is excellent. These are books that I don't have to tune into every day, as the plot continues gently and is more about the thoughts and feelings of the many characters than about exciting development, but I find myself becoming more and more drawn in as the books proceed. I feel connected to the characters and think about them, almost as real people, even when I'm not listening.
I am looking forward to the final two in the series.

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Cazelet Chronicles Book 2

This is my second time listening to the Audible edition of Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazelet Chronicles and I am loving it!
Actually, I'm finding it immensely more enjoyable the second time, as there are details I completely missed the first time around.

If you like the sort of novel that moves you steadily toward a surprising climax and then puts it satisfyingly all back together again by book's end, then you might want to skip this one.
For that matter, you should skip the rest of the books in the Cazelet Chronicles all together.

Howard is a genius in creating multidimensional characters that you can see (or hear) coming to life - deceitful , perverse, quiet or noisily ambivalent, and dishonest, yet, as in real life, these same people can be forthright, candid, kind, charitable, and self-sacrificing

I love UK WWII historical fiction, however Howard's books are less about the actual war itself. She seems to prefer it be a backdrop to her novel's formation of its characters.

This, and the rest of the Chronicles, are for you if you love family sagas, especially the English "Home Front" during WWII.
I love it!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Just not my cup of tea

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No.. struggled to get through it.

Would you ever listen to anything by Elizabeth Jane Howard again?

possibly

What about Jill Balcon’s performance did you like?

clear narration and great voice inflection

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

no

Any additional comments?

Did not suit my taste in stories. Found it a bit trite and boring

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Erratic volume was distracting

I wasn't interested enough in the story to continue with the series. I also had to keep the volume uncomfortably high to hear frequent portions dropped to almost a whisper.

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3 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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It started good but...

What disappointed you about Marking Time?

The story moved well until it started delving into the lives of the older adults, homosexuality and immoral living, left me very disappointed in a story about lives during the war.

Would you ever listen to anything by Elizabeth Jane Howard again?

no

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Volume 2 of this saga did not disappoint

Again the Cazalet Family Tree, found online, was a great help but I needed it less and less as the story the characters’ personalities became more and more complex and recognizable. One of the things that struck me was the frigid and almost primitive living conditions of this quite well to do family. I found myself more appreciative of my own well-stocked pantry and cozy home, however much smaller, the more I read.I feel totally bound to them now and must learn where life takes them all.

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Part the second

In which we are drawn by narrative threads so finely wrought as to miss them all by the end of the novel, and wish to hasten on. Adored.

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Wonderful book wonderfully read

I’m so glad I discovered this series, equal on greatness to Trollope’s “Palliser” series or Anthony Powell’s linked novels (“A Dance to the Music of Time”) each of which are also beautifully narrated here on Audible.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A Delicious Listen

I'm loving these books and the reader does a beautiful job of dramatizing such a long list of characters. Wonderful language and detail - really a pleasure to listen to!

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