The Ocean Liner

By: Marius Gabriel

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

As war engulfs Europe, 1,500 passengers risk everything to find a brighter future.

Cousins Masha and Rachel Morgenstern board the luxury liner the SS Manhattan bound for New York, desperate to escape the concentration camps that claimed the rest of their family. America offers a safe haven, but to reach it they must survive a hazardous Atlantic crossing.

Among their fellow passengers fleeing the war, each with their own conflicts, secrets and surprises, are the composer Igor Stravinsky, making a new start after a decade of tragedy, and Rose Kennedy, determined to keep her four children from harm. Particularly worrying to Rose is her daughter Rosemary, a vivacious but troubled woman whose love for a Californian musician may derail her family’s political ambitions. And then there’s young Thomas, a Nazi with a secret...

But, under the waves, the Manhattan is being stalked by a German U-boat. Will any of those aboard the ocean liner ever achieve their dream of a new life in America?

©2018 Marius Gabriel (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Chapter 13 and I give up…

The multiple story lines should make this a compelling novel but…
I am far from a prude however the periodic rather explicit sex just distracts from the real stories being told. I find it unnecessary and distracting. As to the performance…It’s over the top.

Took me back in time

The author made me feel I was there and cared for each character, flaws and all. The narrator added more depth and easily portrayed each one. Definitely at least five stars.

Great Historical Fiction--Compelling Characters

Great story about lots of interesting passengers on the great liner, Manhattan, a US ship transporting passengers from Europe to America at the beginning of WWII. Exciting and with historical facts wrapped into a fictional story. Marius Gabriel is one of my favorite authors. I read on Kindle and listened to Angela Dawes on Audible. Both were terrific. Lots of angst among the escaping Passengers departing Nazi Germany. Reveals a bigot and hatred among some onboard, Americans returning, but they are few compared to the majority of the passengers. Includes romance, adventure, and military actions.

Fast out of the gate faded on the final turn

The book was great while on the ship but a let down in the last 1/3. Kind of ran out of steam. Could have fast forwarded to the last two chapters.

could not stop listening

I loved this book, I would love to know if the part about Rosemary Kennedy had any truth to it . It ended to soon as any good book does . The woman who performed it was really good each character voice was different she made the book so real! I just loved it !!!!!!

A Love Forever

Although this book is primarily about the life of Rosemary Kennedy, it tells through the stories of other characters what the attitude of the public has been through the years towards anyone who does not share what they consider a normal and healthy sexual alignment.

pretty good

pleasant. I got caught up in the storyline. well written and engaging. I would recommend.

Wonderful Heartfelt Story!

Really loved this book, amazing that a male author could capture the essence of the female characters so well

Decent story... a little dull

The story wasn’t bad, but I felt it kinda dragged in places. It didn’t grab my attention. I would leave the book for days before listening again. There were several storylines going at the same time. The one about Rosemary Kennedy probably affected me the most... what a sad and tragic story! The narrator was pretty good. The ending was anticlimactic, IMHO.

Great Book!

I loved this book. I stayed fully engaged throughout the book. The narration was also excellent.

Another wonderful book.

Fabulous writing and excellent narration. I love this author’s books. So clever how he combines history with fiction bringing well known characters to life.

Poignant

A well told story of the lives of those on the Ss Manhattan in 1939, told empathetically to their conclusion.

Brilliant story and brilliantly read

Excellent story and the reader has allowed each person in the book to show their character

Outstanding

Did not expect to enjoy this book so much. Very moving. Excellent narrator. Recomend reading.

Disappointing

I read this after reading The Girls in the Attic by the same author which was so beautifully written. Weirdly the characters in this book seemed to have no depth. I felt as though I was continually waiting for their stories to actually ‘start’ but they never really did. Towards the end of the book the time line leapt about and I almost felt like the author had lost interest or was under pressure to wrap each character up so their endings felt clumsy and hurried. Overall a really disappointing listen.

A wonderful book!

As always Marius Gabriel writes a page turner, (compulsive listen!) It recreates a lost age. The horrors of the holocaust and lost values which meant that a woman could be put away by a wealthy family. So instead of giving a loving, rather simple minded and vulnerable young woman love and support, she both deserved and desperately needed, they locked her away and performed an operation on her, without her consent, just to avoid any possibility of her embarrassing them, or causing a scandal.