Jeanne Walker Bourland
- 3
- reviews
- 2
- helpful votes
- 9
- ratings
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Signal Fires
- A Novel
- By: Dani Shapiro
- Narrated by: Dani Shapiro
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Division Street is full of secrets. An impulsive lie begets a secret—one which will forever haunt the Wilf family. And the Shenkmans, who move into the neighborhood many years later, bring secrets of their own.. Spanning fifty kaleidoscopic years, on a street—and in a galaxy—where stars collapse and stories collide, these two families become bound in ways they never could have imagined. Urgent and compassionate, Signal Fires is a magical story for our times, a literary tour de force by a masterful storyteller at the height of her powers.
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Depressing, poorly read
- By Arden Mahaffey on 11-02-22
- Signal Fires
- A Novel
- By: Dani Shapiro
- Narrated by: Dani Shapiro
Wonderful story telling
Reviewed: 11-08-22
As a fan of Dani Shapiro’s podcast and nonfiction works, I ordered this on audible within minutes of learning its upcoming publication.
I found it difficult to leave the story and looked for any excuse to do chores or errands or extra long walks since I only listen to books while driving or engaging in the above mentioned activities.
I can see how she pulled from her experience gathering ppl’s stories for her podcast, piecing together the myriad of ways secrets haunt us and, potentially, destroy lives.
I imagine this will be a NYTimes best seller. I can’t see a reason it shouldn’t be.
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2 people found this helpful
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The Patron Saint of Liars
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Julia Gibson
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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St. Elizabeth's is a lovely old place in a small town in Kentucky that used to be the beautiful Hotel Louisa. In the 1960s, it is a home for unwed mothers run by nuns. Life at St. Elizabeth's is not unpleasant, but it is temporary. All the pregnant women who come there will go home within the year. Except for Rose, a beautiful, mysterious woman, who is neither unwed nor alone. She is simply pregnant and doesn't want her husband or her mother to know. She plans to give her baby up because she knows she cannot be the mother the baby needs.
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Incomplete
- By Deborah on 04-24-08
- The Patron Saint of Liars
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Julia Gibson
Best Patchett novel
Reviewed: 12-10-21
My only complaint is the music in this recording that serves as a break between sections. I found the choice of notes unsettling. Other than that, read perfectly. And, of course, the story was mesmerizing. I feel heartbroken in a way.
I found myself stopping and rewinding so I could hear words, sentences, passages again and again. Ann Patchett is a wizard with the English language, putting words together in a way that won’t leave a reader.
I’ve never read a story if a character so flawed who is not a villain. As a mother, and a daughter, I wanted to hate her, and there were moments when I did, but somehow those moments faded.
Rose is the most flawed character ever who wasn’t also just terrible. The way patchett balanced that concept is nothing short of miraculous.
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I'm Supposed to Protect You from All This
- A Memoir
- By: Nadja Spiegelman
- Narrated by: Nadja Spiegelman
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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For a long time, Nadja Spiegelman believed her mother was a fairy. More than her famous father, Maus creator Art Spiegelman, and even more than most mothers, hers - French-born New Yorker art director Françoise Mouly - exerted a force over reality that was both dazzling and daunting. As Nadja's body changed and "began to whisper to the adults around me in a language I did not understand", their relationship grew tense.
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Aweful
- By Haley Abreu on 07-05-17
- I'm Supposed to Protect You from All This
- A Memoir
- By: Nadja Spiegelman
- Narrated by: Nadja Spiegelman
Beautifully told story
Reviewed: 07-07-21
At the top of my all time favorite memoirs. Often struck by her perfect use of descriptive language. Each person came fully to life.
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