A. Paulsen-Reed

Enjoyable and educational

Reviewed: 04-29-24

This book opened my eyes to what the women of Sicily and Sicilians in general went through in the early 20th century. It helped me better understand why so many Sicilians came to the US during that time.

Certain parts of the story felt a bit cheesy at times, but it was still interesting, with lots of colorful characters.

And the narrators were great. I liked that the Italian woman's story was narrated by someone with an Italian accent.

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well written and original!

Reviewed: 04-13-22

Well written and performed! Way more sophisticated than I expected too. Need to look up more of this author's work.

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Great title, doesn't disappoint!

Reviewed: 04-18-21

What a delightful, fresh, honest, funny, moving, thoughtful, and even profound audio book to stumble across! At its core, this book makes you reflect on what it means to be human, but it's also really funny. Can't recommend it enough!

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Very enjoyable read, good characters

Reviewed: 11-18-20

Although it took me a while to figure out who was who and how they were all connected, I enjoyed getting to know the characters. The book is well written and enjoyable to listen to, and ends in a satisfying way. Just what is called for in 2020!

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An exceptional book

Reviewed: 07-10-20

Wow. This book was incredible. Well written, warm, human, inspiring. It's like a hug for your soul.

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1 person found this helpful

excellent reporting, often dense

Reviewed: 09-27-18

I thought this was a well researched, well written book. Everything in it is reporting, not spin or opinion. There are some policy discussions that are quite lengthy and dense, but if you can get through them, you'll be more informed for it.

This is a must read.

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Gripping, but rather limited in scope

Reviewed: 02-01-18

I was fascinated by this book and I couldn't stop listening. It was terrifying to learn how many sociopaths are in our society and the different ways they live out their lives vis-a-vis other people. But although this book is about sociopaths, it is equally a paean to conscience. The author is writing to non sociopaths, urging us to distance and protect ourselves from those without conscience, while clinging to everything connected to conscience: love, kindness, empathy, and altruism. This book came out of the author's response to 911 and her need to explore the presence and absence of conscience amongst humanity. She thus shares her (quite insightful) thoughts on theological, ethical, and scientific issues raised by the lack of conscience in some people.

However, she does not address sociopaths themselves or discuss how they should deal with this condition. And other than one comment at the very end of the book, she does not address the humanity of sociopaths and the need to avoid dehumanizing them. She sees them as predators to be avoided. I understand that as a trauma psychologist, she is concerned by the damage sociopaths can inflict on others, I would be fascinated to hear how she would (or if she has) treated a sociopath herself. Maybe in the second edition!

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A truly fantastic book

Reviewed: 06-01-17

The characters, the plot, the delivery are all riveting. It's a pleasure to experience such good writing.

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Great listen!

Reviewed: 12-28-16

Although I liked The Host better, I still really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. Each plot twist made the story more interesting and enjoyable. It felt like what you would want to happen in a story as opposed to what would most likely happen in real life. And I loved it!

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Excellent story, excellent writing

Reviewed: 08-18-15

This book was so beautifully written and read - it was a pleasure to listen to. The voice of the author provides a unique way of thinking about and describing life, which I found intriguing. It was also refreshing to read a story about WWII from such unique perspectives. It opened my eyes to new ways the war could have been experienced. I completely recommend this book. It is excellent in every way. And although the book overall was a pleasure to listen to, I found the end so gripping that I lost sleep because I just had to finish!

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