Audio Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I don't know why I put off reading this book for as long as I did, but thank goodness I finally got the good sense to read it. Even though I've had the book in print version for several years, I decided to go with the audio after sampling it on Audible.com. And it proved to be a great decision.

About the Book (Taken from Goodreads):

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. 

 My Thoughts:

Simply put, this book was outstanding.  I've read many books about WWII but not from the prospective that Markus Zusak painted for us with these wonderfully human characters.  My heart was stolen by Liesel from the very start and also with her foster father, Pappa. But singling them out isn't fair to all of the other people in her life like Rudy, her best friend, and Max, the Jew secretly living in their basement. Each one of the amazing characters had such a special purpose in this story and Mr. Zusak did a brilliant job bringing them to life. 

The story takes place in such a bleak time in our world's history and Zusak shows us how it was for the German people under Hilter's rule living in this small town. He shows that not all German's agreed with what was happening and the reader is shown the fear they lived in even from their own neighbors.  Liesel's foster parents showed so much courage by hiding Max in their basement, but they were terrified each and every day that someone would find out. 

The thing that intrigued me the most was that the narrator of this story was Death. In my opinion, that decision took this book to a whole other level. Not only did Death tell the story but also gave insight and even put feelings to the job he had to do.  And that takes me once again, to the writing. I was blown away by the phrasing - taking a simple act or thought and putting it in a way that just made me stop for a moment and think about what I'd just heard. The writing in this book is without a doubt at the very top of my list of all the books I've ever read in my life. That's a huge statement, I know, but I absolutely stand behind it.  

Now I get to the audio review. Allan Corduner did an amazing job. His deep, penetrating tone was spot on for the character that he portrayed.  I've read some audio reviews that said it was too much, but I strongly disagree. For this book and that character, he was perfect. Death is scary and even daunting to some and his voice brought that and much more. If you haven't yet read this book, try a sample of it on Audible.com and see for yourself. Personally, I'm so glad I chose to listen to this modern classic. This book moved me to the point of hot tears and has stayed with me. It is a wonderful book. 

With the release of the movie version coming soon, now I am expecially excited to see these characters come to life. You can watch teh movie trailer here. 

THE BOOK THIEF

Author: Markus Zusak

Publisher: Listening Library

Published: September 2006

Length: 13 Hrs 56 Min

Recommend? YES, YES, YES, YES YES!!!!!

Review: The Violets of March by Sarah Jio

THE VIOLETS OF MARCH is my second Sarah Jio novel, although it was actually her debut. The first one I read, BLACKBERRY WINTER, completely won me over so it wasn't a hard decision to read this one next.

About the Book:

After having a such a successful life in her twenties, both professionally and personally, now in her thirties Emily has found herself in a much different place.  Her career as a best-selling author seems to be at a standstill and her marriage to Jake, the seemingly perfect husband, is now over. Her best friend is worried about her so when Emily's elder great-aunt Bea invites her to Bainbridge Island for a long overdue visit, she encourages Emily to go hoping it will give her some clarity and closure and help her to move forward with her life.

Once she arrives at the Island, many old memories rush to her of summers spent there as a child. She doesn't know why her family stopped going there when she was a teenager and she is met only with silence and evasiveness when she tries to find out.

When she discovers a red velvet diary in the room she is staying in at Bea's house, she is at first reluctant to read it for fear of intruding on someone's privacy, but her curiosity gets the better of her and she begins to read. The diary is dated 1943 and although the names are different, the people are amazingly familiar to her. It is impossible for her to stop reading, especially when the person who left it for her urges her to read it completely.

Emily settles into life on the island and runs into people from her past life that she hasn't seen in years. Though she feels excited and surprised, it is also a bit overwhelming. When she meets Jack, the grandson of a neighbor who lives down the beach, Emily is overcome with confusion. Why does she feel she is betraying a marriage that is already broken?

Eventually, the diary takes on a life of its own and the lines between Emily's life and the diary are blurred and impossible to separate.  The secrets of her family's past, and the story written in the diary are heading right into Emily's life and she rushes to figure it all out so that she can make the decisions for her own future.

My Thoughts:

There are a couple things right off the bat that I liked about this book even before I read it: The beautiful cover! The story within a story concept and the location of Bainbridge Island, near Seattle. As a Seattlean, Jio incorporates so much of the city into her books that it actually becomes a its own character.  She is turning me into a Seattle-lover! I would love to visit there one day to see for myself how beautiful it is.

As for the book, I really liked Emily right away. All of the characters were original and very believable to me. Bea was a prickly character but I liked her and it was obvious she only wanted the best for Emily. In my opinion, the story-telling in this debut was done well and kept moving at a good pace that kept my attention and even had me guessing.  The diary story was fascinating and I liked the way Jio weaved it into the present. It felt like I was in the room with Emily as she read it. I love stories taking place during that era so its easy for me to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed THE VIOLETS OF MARCH. My only problem is to figure out which Sarah Jio book to read next.

THE VIOLETS OF MARCH
Author: Sarah Jio
Publisher: Plume
Published:  April 2011
Length: 304 pp
Source: Purchased

[TSS] Review: The Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer (Clifton Chronicles #2) Audio Version

One of the great benefits of the book blogging community that I am so blessed to be a part of is that I am constantly introduced to new-to-me authors that I may not have otherwise come into contact with. This is especially true of Jeffrey Archer and his series, The Clifton Chronicles. I was lucky enough last year to have won the audio of the first book in the series, ONLY TIME WILL TELL, from Anna over at Diary of an Eccentric. I was unfamiliar with Jeffrey Archer, not having read anything by him, but as soon as I started listening, I was completely drawn in.

The series centers around Harry Clifton, a young man from the town of Bristol, England. The first book, having been about Harry's childhood and his questionable parentage had a startling ending with what I consider to be a terrific cliff-hanger. In this follow-up, THE SINS of the FATHER, the story picks up right where the first left off. While the first book takes place entirely in England, this book takes us to America as well.

Harry, now a grown man, finds himself not only in a land he is totally unfamiliar with but also ensnared in a situation that could prove to end his life as he knows it. When Harry left England, he also left behind Emma, the woman he loves. With all the questions surrounding his paternity, that love is seemingly condemned but Harry vows to prove that Emma's father is not his own, so that they can at last have a life together. But the obstacles that Harry encounters along the way may well get him killed in the process. Unbeknownst to Harry, Emma has set out on her own to find him, even if it means going to America herself to bring him home. Being that it is the beginning of World War II and America has now entered the war, Harry finds himself fighting not only for his own personal freedom but for the freedoms of many country's.

My Thoughts:

In my opinion, the performance of this audio is stellar. The narrators, Alex Jennings and Emilia Fox are perfectly suited, putting this audio series at the top of my list. Add to that the story of Harry's questionable paternity, Emma's unwavering efforts to prove he did not die at sea as reported and following the lives of his loved ones, makes this a great story.

All of the characters are likable and very believable.  Even Hugo Barrington, Emma's scoundrel of a father, is the perfect villain who is always on the verge of getting away with all of his misdeeds. Each of the characters takes their turn in telling their stories and in doing so, Jeffrey Archer unfolds the story in layers that left me with many Aha! moments. When one character is speaking, it often sheds light on facts that a previous character was unaware of, therefore layering the plot perfectly. I just loved it!

The only downside to this series that I can see is that now I have to wait until the next book to find out what happens, because as with the first book, I was left with another great cliff-hanger! Jeffrey Archer is a master storyteller so it is easy to figure that I highly recommend this series. I'm sure the printed version would be equally as entertaining but if you enjoy audios I encourage you to give this one a try. I promise you won't be disappointed.

THE SINS OF THE FATHER (Clifton Chronicles #2)
Author: Jeffrey Archer
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: May 2012
Length: 10h 9m
Source: Audible.com
Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5

Book Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

When THE GUERNSEY LITERARY and POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows came out this past August, there was so much talk about it and it was said to be one of those you-just-have-to-read books. I resisted. One reason is that I typically don't run out and buy a book because 'everyone' is reading it. I tend to shy away from the mainstream top sellers and I'm perfectly happy reading authors no one has heard of or books that don't even come close to the New York Times fame. Secondly, I didn't know how I could possibly read a book with such a title! Now I am from the south and I do love sweet potato pie, but I had no idea what a potato peel pie was! However, my curiosity got the better of me and when The Literary Guild had a special I just couldn't pass up, I ordered it, thinking, I'll probably regret this. I didn't think that a book made up entirely of letter correspondence would be able to tell a story that would hold my interest. Boy, was I wrong!

I'm embarrassed to admit that I knew nothing of the history of The Channel Islands, Guernsey or the Occupation by the Germans in WWII. But that is exactly what The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is about. It only took me reading a few of the letters to realize I had misled myself into thinking I wouldn't care for this book.

The protagonist of this story is Juliet Ashton, a Londoner who stumbled upon a writing career during the war and lost just about everything to the bombings of London. The letters tell the story of how, in early 1946, Juliet received a note from a Dawsey Adams from the island of Giuernsey explaining he had come by a copy of a book by Charles Lamb that had once belonged to her and could she possibly help him in finding more of his writings. He explained further that he, along with other islanders belonged to a literary society that was formed during the Occupation and that they still met regularly to discuss books. So began a friendship between two book lovers that would eventually lead Juliet to Guernsey to meet Dawsey and the other members of the society and to begin work on a new book she hoped to write about the German Occupation of Guernsey.

This is not just a book about the German Occupation of Guernsey. It's a story of the tragedies of war, friendship, loyalty, family and even love. Through their letters the reader gets to know the characters and the stories behind them. It's hard to say which of them was my favorite as they all are endearing people with big hearts. You instantly want to be included in their group. One character did stand out to me. Her name was Elizabeth McKenna and there were no letters from or to her, but through the others you learn that she is a loyal and courageous woman that is loved so very much.

This was a delightful, entertaining and interesting book that I am so glad I read. I enjoyed learning about the history of Guernsey and the people connected to the island, the friendships that were more like family and the lives they led. Because the stories were told through letters, it was a quick read that moved swiftly. One of my favorite things about the book was the many references to classic literature, the authors and the characters in their books. It really was a joy to read and although I don't re-read many books, I would consider changing my view for this one. I just have to mention one more thing about the actual book that I really appreciated. It has a sewn-in dark green ribbon to keep your place as you read. Not many books have those anymore and I know it's just a small thing, but I thought it was a really nice touch.

Click here to watch a very interesting video about the book.

THE GUERNSEY LITERARY and POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY
Authors: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Publisher: The Dial Press a Division of Random House
Published: August 2008
Pages: 274
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (I really liked it a lot!)