The Time In Between

By: Maria Duenas

Narrated by: Zilah Mendoza

Length: 21 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's Summary

The thrilling, internationally bestselling novel about a haute couture seamstress who becomes an undercover spy for the British Secret Service during World War II.

A #1 bestseller in Spain with more than 1.5 million copies sold, The Time In Between has taken readers by storm with its unforgettable tale of adventure, tragedy, love, and war. Readers will fall in love with MarÍa DueÑas’s dazzlingly inspiring heroine, Sira Quiroga.

©2011 Maria Duenas (P)2011 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic Reviews

"A wonderful novel, in the old and good tradition, with intrigue, love, mystery and tender, audacious and clean-cut characters." (Mario Vargas Llosa, recipient of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature)

How can a novel be both cruel and tender, dark and luminous all at the same time, and keep the reader glued to its pages with a complex, captivating narrative? MarÍa DueÑas's novel manages to make this possible with a tale that is destined to become a literary classic." (Javier Sierra, bestselling author of The Secret Supper and The Lady in Blue)

"The Time in Between is a magnificent novel that flawlessly brings together history and intrigue. Sira Quiroga – the seamtress – won’t be easily forgotten.” (Juan GÓmez-Jurado, author of The Moses Expedition)

terrible narration

I haven't even made it to the end and could not stop myself from commenting on the narrator's flat, lackluster performance and many, many mispronounced (English) words. I am enjoying the story, which is the only reason I predict that I will make it to the end (that, and the fact that I paid for this one, having used all my credits for the month).
Pick this one up in paper form from the library or bookstore.

16 of 16 people found this review helpful

Great story... poor narration.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was well done, however the narration was lacking in emotion. I would like to read this book myself rather than listening to it next time.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Enjoyable Story, Terrible Narration

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I am enjoying the story so far but what is with all the lisping in Spanish? Castilian Spanish does not use the "th" every time there is an S somewhere in the word. I could disregard that except that the narrator is so terrible. I keep listening because the story and locales are interesting but who produced this? Do they not hear how badly read this is? And to think I have another 17 hours to spend with this toneless voice....

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

This is when Audible's return policy shines!

I wasn't sure how I'd like this book but knowing that as a member I could return it, I bought it and downloaded just one section. I agree with other listeners:the narrator is not up to the job. Her voice was okay, but she too often read sentences awkwardly, with unnatural pauses. I also found the novelist's language overwordy and awkward. Toward the end it got better, but there were many places where she used fifteen words where five would have been much better.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Please help me!

Please someone tell the reader of this book that in Spain, the "s" does not sound like a "z". Only the "c" sometimes and, of course, the "z". It is driving me crazy. Her name is Sira, not "Zira". This might seem trivial but she does it every time she reads words containing the letter "s". As you can imagine, this is very often. Right now, even though I am enjoying the story, I do not know if I can continue to listen. I wish I had bought the book instead!

9 of 11 people found this review helpful

Great Story Horrible Narration

Any additional comments?

This was a very interesting story ruined by poor narration and horrible editing.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Good story, poor narration

Where does The Time In Between rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is my first audio book.

Any additional comments?

The narrator poorly read this story. She mispronounced words, intonated incorrectly and just was not a captivating narrator.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Good mix of history, mystery and fashion

If you could sum up The Time In Between in three words, what would they be?

colorful, sensual, heartfelt

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Time In Between?

The discovery that Sira had lost everything including a baby to that scoundrel.

What three words best describe Zilah Mendoza’s voice?

fluid, inconsistant Castellano, mispronunciations

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I really liked Sira's character and empathized easily with all her feelings of happiness and sadness, fear and confusion.

Any additional comments?

I loved the story, but kept wanting to correct the mispronunciations of the reader, some in Castilian Spanish, some in French and some in English--that was distracting. For example, the c's in Palacio Nacional are both "lisped", but the s's in San Andres are not. This was inconsistent throughout.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Narrator so bad I couldn't listen

I don't know if this story deserves one star but the narration is so awful I couldn't continue listening. The reader's voice is dull, flat and lifeless and made me cringe. Maybe it is better read. But who knows.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

A wonderful adventure poorly narrated.

I was both elated and sad when this book ended. Sad because I really loved the story, the locations and their descriptions, the intrigue, and the history. I was elated because the narrator was terrible which made it difficult to listen to. Several times I almost stopped because of it. She seemed very flat, unrehearsed—as if she was surprised that the next word was one she did not expect—and she mispronounced many words. I do think the translation wasn’t the best either but that could be because I am from the U.S. and the translator is a Brit. But I do think some of choice of words was rather showy—impervious overused. I recommend the book highly but read it. Don’t listen.