• The Invisible Hour

  • A Novel
  • By: Alice Hoffman
  • Narrated by: Jessie Mueller
  • Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (266 ratings)

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The Invisible Hour  By  cover art

The Invisible Hour

By: Alice Hoffman
Narrated by: Jessie Mueller
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Publisher's summary

The latest New York Times best seller from beloved author Alice Hoffman celebrates the enduring magic of books and is a “wonderful story of love and growth” (Stephen King).

One June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia’s mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community—an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden. But how could this be? How could Nathaniel Hawthorne have so perfectly captured the pain and loss that Mia carries inside her?

Through a journey of heartbreak, love, and time, Mia must abandon the rules she was raised with at the Community. As she does, she realizes that reading can transport you to other worlds or bring them to you, and that readers and writers affect one another in mysterious ways. She learns that time is more fluid than she can imagine, and that love is stronger than any chains that bind you.

As a girl Mia fell in love with a book. Now as a young woman she falls in love with a brilliant writer as she makes her way back in time. But what if Nathaniel Hawthorne never wrote The Scarlet Letter? And what if Mia Jacob never found it on the day she planned to die?

From “the reigning queen of magical realism” (Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author), this is the story of one woman’s dream. For a little while it came true.

©2023 Alice Hoffman (P)2023 Simon & Schuster Audio

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What listeners say about The Invisible Hour

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Such a good read

I have read so many of her books and loved them all. This one hit different. Sometimes we have to end this story to find our next one.

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Loved it!

An artful braiding of time, personalities, history, and the impact our choices and words make in our own lives and the lives of others ~ both today and in the future.

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The best one yet of your stories.

A story that transported you back in time weaving the love of books, authors and magic together. Mahalo Alice for honoring the feminine ice again.

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Amazing-

I could not put this down! Sumptuous writing and a beautiful blend of fantasy and modern day relevance to current events. Who knew Hawthorne could be a hottie😄

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    2 out of 5 stars

Good start…

It started very interesting, then Part 1 ended and Part 2 was just odd. It got very, very, very repetitive and almost pointless and anticlimactic? Part 2 explained nothing at all… just a lot of love, live, make the best of it, mothers love their children over everything else…. Blah, blah, blah…

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Perfect way to start fall in New England

This book still has my heart aching in the best way. Alice Hoffman’s writing is perfection.

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Expert narrator!

Yes the story flips mid way, but I still really enjoyed it. The book was great, but the narrator! WOW! She was excellent. She embodied the mood of the story in expert fashion. I will definitely be searching for her in other books.

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Great read!

I liked the twist in the middle of the book, also the narrator was amazing!

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Amazing

This is definitely one of the best books I have read in a long time! I love Alice Hoffman's books and this book is now probably my favorite

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One of the best

This has been one of the best books I have listened to. It definitely did not disappoint!

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