Send for Me

By: Lauren Fox

Narrated by: Natasha Soudek

Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

An achingly beautiful work of historical fiction that moves between Germany on the eve of World War II and present-day Wisconsin, unspooling a thread of love, longing, and the powerful bonds of family.

Annelise is a dreamer: imagining her future while working at her parents’ popular bakery in Feldenheim, Germany, anticipating all the delicious possibilities yet to come. There are rumors that anti-Jewish sentiment is on the rise, but Annelise and her parents can’t quite believe that it will affect them; they’re hardly religious at all. But as Annelise falls in love, marries, and gives birth to her daughter, the dangers grow closer: a brick thrown through her window; a childhood friend who cuts ties with her; customers refusing to patronize the bakery. Luckily Annelise and her husband are given the chance to leave for America, but they must go without her parents, whose future and safety are uncertain.

Two generations later, in a small Midwestern city, Annelise’s granddaughter, Clare, is a young woman newly in love. But when she stumbles upon a trove of her grandmother’s letters from Germany, she sees the history of her family’s sacrifices in a new light, and suddenly she’s faced with an impossible choice: the past, or her future. A novel of dazzling emotional richness, Send for Me is a major departure for this acclaimed author, an epic and intimate exploration of mothers and daughters, duty and obligation, hope and forgiveness.

©2021 Lauren Fox (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

Disappointed

Worst reading I have heard. I am sure it doesn't do this book justice. Cant rate the story because the narrator is so bad. Did not finish.

The narration was awful.

I was excited to listen to this book - it was highly rated on the Today Show. I just couldn't get pass the narrators whiny voice on Audible. I will have to read this book instead.

Hardcopy May have been better for this book

The narrator seemed to have an annoyed tone throughout the book which detracted from the storyline and characters. The story jumped around from 1930’s Germany to roughly 1998/2000 Milwaukee and at times it was hard to figure out who was who based on the narrators same annoyed tone. This may be one instance where reading the hardcopy may have been better the the audio version.

Well written but plot did not really connect with me.

The plot as described did not describe a complex mother and daughter relationship. The relationships in both generations seemed rather simple lipstick. It was more a story about middle class refugees, in this case during the Holocaust. I don’t think it relayed anything new or different about that story either.

The narrator speaks very slowly and with excessive drama. I had to listen at 1.5 speed and still felt it was a bit slow. However she is able to relay the emotions of the story.

Heartfelt writing and expressive narration

I loved everything about this book as well as Lauren Fox's past novels. A master wordsmith she draws you in and you just can't stop listening. I really enjoyed the narrator, as well. Expressive with a soft voice, she brought this sad tale to life. You will totally enjoy this work of art.

very scattered

I had trouble following the story, it jumped around with no explanation. I didn't even finish the book which is quite rare for me.

Maybe it was just the audiobook...

But I struggled through this book. For me, it was like listening to a guided meditation for sleep. The narrator read it such a way that it reminded me of the podcast “Nothing Much Happens,” which disappointedly could have also been the name of this book.

Utterly exquisite. Breathtaking. Beautiful.

This book shook me to the core. It’s like a poem and a song and a dance woven together using pure soul and heart. The story is gorgeous, and the narration took it to a whole other level of gorgeous, as well. Perfect example of an extraordinary book being made other-dimensional through acting/narration. Thank you to both the author and narrator. You mended something in me that I didn’t even know was broken.