Winter Journey

By: Diane Armstrong

Narrated by: Deidre Rubenstein

Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Halina Shore is a Polish born forensic dentist living in Australia. When she travels to Poland to take part in the investigation of a war crime, she finds herself at the center of a bitter struggle in a community that has been divided by a grim legacy. As the investigation proceeds, her professional assignment becomes a confronting personal odyssey as the truth about her own past begins to emerge.

Inspired by a true incident that took place in Poland in 1941 but was concealed for 60 years, Diane Armstrong's gripping novel is a detective story that is part mystery, part history, and part forensic investigation. It is also a tale of love, loss, and unimaginable sacrifice.

©2005 Diana Armstrong (P)2005 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd.

Critic reviews

"The best and worst of the human spirit are dredged up in this profoundly moving, compelling, and superbly written story." (Australian Women's Weekly)

Excellent Story

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a real eye opener to the tragic things that can & unfortunately do happen during war times. I highly recommend this book. It is the first book I have read (or listened to in this case) of Diane Armstrong & I really like her style of writing. I shall be keeping an eye out for more of her work.

Slow start, got better

I also gave up on this book in the first two hours. It just wasn't grabbing me and seemed to be more "blah blah blah" than story development. It did get better and I am glad I finished it, but I wish the beginning of the story was better.

Excellent

The narrator does an incredible job! Not just bringing life and performance to a great story but she was able to manage many characters without leaving you guessing who it was!
And the story... Great! Well researched and written
How did we humans do such horrible things to each other and sadly why do we continue to do them?

One of my all time favorites!

At the beginning of this story, I thought it was going to be a mystery set in Sydney. Thinking it was to be a run of the mill story, I put it aside and listened to only a bit each day. Then all of a sudden, the scenario changed and I was listening all day long. The narrator is fantastic. The text is rich. The story is incredible.

Rewarding. Worth the time to finish.

Slow build up & Character development . halfway through the book I thought. minimal events have passed & the book continues that way until all the little personality & character traits, circumstances fall into place. Mildly predictable but worth every minute once said & done. I'll listen to this again. Performance was great.

A great listening experience

A captivating story which was beautifully read. This was a book that I took a chance on as I hadn't read a review or heard about it prior to download. At times heart-wrenching but a definite page turner that kept my interest until the last word.

Harrowing, and riveting.

I could not stop listening. The first few chapters were a bit of a slog, as the story took a while to develop. However, as the plot progressed (or, perhaps, regressed), I found myself to be involved into the soul of the book. Does good triumph over evil in the end? Can tears and confessions ever erase the pain of the past? I found this not to be the case. Time only dims memories, not pain.

Good subject poorly written and narrated.

So much wrong with this book; however the premise is true: what happened who blamed whom and why people were still in denial 50 years later.I don't think the villagers would have remembered the event as the invaders moved villagers east to new settlements and new villagers moved in to where an atrocity had taken place.; however the excavation effect on the villagers from guilt to denial to new waves of anti-semitism is well described. The readers Polish is perfect but a number of the villagers appeared to have Australian accents half way through. I didn't care for her voice. The love affair was unnecessary. If the author thought it was necessary in order to hold our attention she can't have thought much about the horror she was writing about. If this is the level at which you want to learn about WWII then go ahead but there are much better novels and readable history about the daily life under the Russians or the Germans. The Poles had the worst of most.

Some coincidences you see coming from miles away

An interesting listen. An Australian forensic dentist returns to her birth country (Poland) to investigate the remains of a Jewish community exterminated in the preamble to the Second World War only to discover more than she expected about cultures, religion and herself. I found this to be an enjoyable story, although it was at times difficult to believe the coincidences revealed and leading to our conclusion. This book has a lot of heart which makes up for some of the weak structuring and difficult to follow time lines.

I very enjoyable book, well narrated.

I enjoyed everything about this book. It is a good story, ell developed characters, and it is very well narrated.