The Binder of Lost Stories

A Novel

By: Cristina Caboni, Patricia Hampton - translator

Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Hillary Huber

From international bestselling author Cristina Caboni comes an exquisite and engrossing novel of two women, centuries apart, bound by a love of books and a longing for self-discovery.

With her delicate touch, Sofia Bauer restores books to their original splendor. In this art she finds refuge from her crumbling marriage and the feeling that her once-vibrant life is slipping away. Then an antique German edition takes her breath away. Slipped covertly into the endpapers is an intriguing missive, the first part of a secret…from one bookbinder to another.

Two hundred years ago, Clarice von Harmel defied the constraints of family and society to engage in a profession forbidden to women. Within three separate volumes, Clarice bound her own hidden story filled with pain, longing, and love beyond all reason. A confession that now crosses centuries to touch the heart of a stranger.

With the help of book collector Tomaso Leoni, Sofia connects the threads of Clarice’s past, page by page, line by line, town by town. She’s determined to make Clarice’s voice heard. With each new revelation, Clarice is giving Sofia the courage to find her own voice and hope for the future she thought was lost.

©2017 Cristina Caboni (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Translation © 2020 by Cristina Caboni.

Wonderful

I love books about books and this was everything I hoped it would be. Enjoy.

Interesting story

An entertaining story about a brave you g lady who is a victim of her time. Defying the odds, she was able to develop a profession. Excellent narration

Fun secondary plot twists

Every time I thought I knew the direction this story was taking a new and interesting path would emerge. The unanticipated jaunts were thoughtful additions that kept me on my toes until the very end.

Nice read. Good narration.

I love the play on words in the title. The physical binding of book as well as lives and history. It was also really interesting to learn more about bookbinding and graphology. I loved the setting of Rome. The sensory details were all there. The author's writing was good overall too. The narrator did a great job.


Now for the story itself though, it's a mixed bag for me. Everything just fell into place to well without much effort from the protagonist in modern-day. I understand how it was all meant to be, but it just seemed a bit too contrived. I personally also didn't like the modern-day couple very much and their romance, which seemed overall on the lustful side. However, I did enjoy the historical storyline more, following the tragic and inspirational story of Clarice, an aristocratic young woman, who sought the courage to grasp independence amid all who tried to control her every move. I really enjoyed her story.

Review

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. The romance of the story was fascinating, it was sad, happy and emotional. The narrator's really brought each character to life. I loved the fact that the story illustrated that women can do anything she sets her mind to and succeed. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys listening to a really great book.