Smuggled

A Novel

By: Christina Shea

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat

Christina Shea follows up her compelling debut novel with an intimate look at the effects of history on an individual life. Smuggled out of Hungary to escape the Nazi menace, five-year-old Eva Farkas now lives with her aunt and uncle in Romania. Renamed Anca Balaj, she’s told to forget her Hungarian past and language and accept a new identity. But when communism smothers her adopted homeland, Anca fights to survive. After the Iron Curtain lifts decades later, she returns to Hungary in 1990, hoping to reclaim her forgotten heritage.

©2011 Christina Shea (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

Good start but slow in the middle

This book started out really good but it turns and get slow and a little boring in the middle. It wasn’t at all what I expected and overall not bad. The narrator was excellent so it helped.

A beautiful story, well told

So many layers to this story! I learned a lot about wartime Eastern Europe and the end of communism. Excellent narration and a surprising and happy ending.

Really really flat.

Really flat story. Flat, lifeless characters. The story jumps around very abruptly and it's a very sad story til the last 2 minutes and then 'the end'. I was very disappointed. It had so much potential. Kind of mad it was recommended at the end of my last book.

Not What I Expected

A nice little story, but the title leads you in the wrong direction. Yes she was smuggled away at a young age, but that’s it – the rest of the story has nothing more to do with it.

Overall the book was just ok. Not bad, not great; it didn’t really resonate with me. Reading about the time when Ceaușescu president was interesting – but fleeting, if your list of books to read is already too long, I would not recommend adding this one.


I did not care for the performance, too many wet-mouth smacking sounds: like when you’re trying to wriggle a seed out of the fleshy part your mouth behind your back teeth with your tongue! Ugh - I find that gross. Sometimes I was not sure if it was the sound of papers rustling, but most of the time it narrator swallowing (noisily!) - It was incredibly distracting… and off putting.

vocals top notch, extra content distracting

Would you try another book from Christina Shea and/or Barbara Rosenblat?

I am unsure. The content was flat, save the graphic scenes.

What was most disappointing about Christina Shea’s story?

Characters were detached, sexual content took away from the plot. Was this a pursuit to find mom, or just a story of surviving communism?

Which scene was your favorite?

Growing up with auntie.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not much.

Any additional comments?

Central theme was surviving communism? Exploitation of women? Left feeling lost in a sad story