
A Bell for Adano
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Narrated by:
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David Green
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By:
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John Hersey
About this listen
This classic novel and winner of the Pulitzer Prize tells the story of an Italian-American major in World War II who wins the love and admiration of the local townspeople when he searches for a replacement for the 700-year-old town bell that had been melted down for bullets by the fascists. Although stituated during one of the most devastating experiences in human history, John Hersey's story speaks with unflinching patriotism and humanity.
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Story
In 11th-century France, Vigdis Adelaïs, a young woman from a prosperous Christian family, falls in love with David Todros, a rabbi’s son and yeshiva student. To be together, the couple must flee their city, and Vigdis must renounce her life of privilege and comfort. Pursued by her father’s knights and in constant danger of betrayal, the lovers embark on a dangerous journey to the south of France, only to find their brief happiness destroyed by the vicious wave of anti-Semitism sweeping through Europe with the onset of the First Crusade.
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Half Spectacular Half Pointless
- By Phyllis on 09-09-20
By: Stefan Hertmans
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Quichotte
- A Novel
- By: Salman Rushdie
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Inspired by the Cervantes classic, Sam DuChamp, mediocre writer of spy thrillers, creates Quichotte, a courtly, addled salesman obsessed with television who falls in impossible love with a TV star. Together with his (imaginary) son Sancho, Quichotte sets off on a picaresque quest across America to prove worthy of her hand, gallantly braving the tragicomic perils of an age where “Anything-Can-Happen.” Meanwhile his creator, in a midlife crisis, has equally urgent challenges of his own.
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The Best Narration I have Ever Heard
- By Bubikon on 12-12-19
By: Salman Rushdie
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The Chosen One
- By: Walt Gragg
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Two months ago, a new leader arose in the Islamic world, the Mahdi - or the Chosen One. He has rallied fundamentalist Muslim forces across the Middle East who have driven deep into Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Standing against them is an allied force made up primarily of the American military. It's a desperate fight. From armored battles in the desert to American carriers desperately dodging waves of cruise missiles, the Mahdi proves to have many tricks up his sleeve.
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Predictable
- By Amazon Customer on 03-25-20
By: Walt Gragg
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All Our Shimmering Skies
- A Novel
- By: Trent Dalton
- Narrated by: Ruby Rees
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Darwin, 1942. As Japanese bombs rain down on her hometown, newly orphaned Molly Hook looks to the skies and runs for her life. Inside a duffel bag, she carries a stone heart and a map that will lead her to Longcoat Bob, the deep-country sorcerer whom she believes cursed her family. Accompanying her are the most unlikely traveling companions: Greta, a razor-tongued actress, and Yukio, a Japanese fighter pilot who’s abandoned his post. Messages from the skies above guide them towards treasure, but foes are close on their trail.
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Gorgeous
- By Lolly Winston on 07-23-21
By: Trent Dalton
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To Cook a Bear
- A Novel
- By: Mikael Niemi
- Narrated by: Anthony Mark Barrow, Allan Corduner
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Jussi, a runaway, becomes Laestadius's faithful son and disciple, and the two set out on botanical treks filled with philosophical discussions where Jussi learns all about plants and nature; and also how to read and write and about spirituality. But their quiet days are interrupted when a maid goes missing in the forest. When she is found dead, the locals suspect a predatory bear is at large. The constable is quick to offer a reward for capturing it, but Laestadius sees other traces that point to a far worse killer on the loose.
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A Spiritual Mystery
- By Amazon Customer on 06-02-21
By: Mikael Niemi
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The Orchard
- A Novel
- By: David Hopen
- Narrated by: Micky Shiloah
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Ari Eden’s life has always been governed by strict rules. In ultra-Orthodox Brooklyn, his days are dedicated to intense study and religious rituals, and adolescence feels profoundly lonely. So when his family announces that they are moving to a glitzy Miami suburb, Ari seizes his unexpected chance for reinvention. Enrolling in an opulent Jewish academy, Ari is stunned by his peers’ dizzying wealth, ambition, and shameless pursuit of life’s pleasures.
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Unremarkable to say the least
- By Housepants97 on 11-22-20
By: David Hopen
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Last Day
- A Novel
- By: Domenica Ruta
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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In Domenica Ruta’s profoundly original novel, the end of the world comes once a year. Every May 28, humanity gathers to anticipate the planet’s demise - and to celebrate as if the day is truly its last. On this holiday, three intersecting sets of characters embark on a possibly last-chance quest for redemption. With sparkling wit, verbal ingenuity, and wild imagination, Ruta has created an alternate world in which an ancient holiday brings into stark reflection our deepest dreams, desires, hopes, and fears.
By: Domenica Ruta
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Drifts
- A Novel
- By: Kate Zambreno
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Haunting and compulsively listenable, Drifts is an intimate portrait of reading, writing, and creative obsession. At work on a novel that is overdue, spending long days walking neighborhood streets with her restless terrier, corresponding ardently with fellow writers, the narrator grows obsessed with the challenge of writing the present tense, of capturing time itself.
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It's the little things that count.
- By Joselo on 06-08-20
By: Kate Zambreno
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The Secret Women
- A Novel
- By: Sheila Williams
- Narrated by: Zakiya Young
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Elise Armstrong, Carmen Bradshaw, and DeeDee Davis meet in a yoga class. Though vastly different, these women discover they all have one thing in common: their mothers have recently passed away. Becoming fast friends, the trio makes a pact to help each other sort through the belongings their mothers’ left behind. But when they find old letters and diaries, Elise, Carmen, and DeeDee are astonished to learn that each of their mothers hid secrets - secrets that will transform their own lives.
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Fantabulous Read
- By SA McMillan on 08-02-21
By: Sheila Williams
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The Outsider
- A Novel
- By: Richard Wright
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 22 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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From Richard Wright comes a compelling story of one man's attempt to escape his past and start anew in Harlem. Cross Damon is a man at odds with society and with himself—a man of superior intellect who hungers for peace but who brings terror and destruction wherever he goes. The Outsider is an important work of fiction that depicts American racism and its devastating consequences in raw and unflinching terms. Brilliantly imagined and frighteningly prescient, it is an epic exploration of the tragic roots of criminal behavior.
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Awesome
- By PDP on 09-21-20
By: Richard Wright
What listeners say about A Bell for Adano
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- any_mouse
- 03-06-25
A sentimental story of war and a case study in leadership
Though the book has its goofy moments, with some of the Italian characters being more caricature than character, it is an excellent and easy book to read. It is the answer to the question of "What must one do to lead a people and become beloved by them." Along the way it includes wonderful color of the people and activities of a small Sicilian town liberated by the Americans from fascist control in WWII, undercurrents of romance and a seasoning of satire on the subject of bad military leadership as well as the aforementioned case study in good leadership, military or otherwise.
The book is also clear that western-style democracy is a far superior form of government to fascism, from its philosophical foundation to the people themselves who carry out these forms of government.
This book was also ably and, when necessary, humorously read.
Overall, I would recommend it to anyone curious about what it might have been like to help Italy recover from fascism or anyone looking to understand how to lead a mission, which at it's most fundamental level is about leading and caring for people.
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- David Giard
- 07-08-23
A hero's efforts to ease the pain of war
The US Army assigned Major Victor Joppolo to administer the town of Adano, Italy after Allied forces drove out Mussolini's Fascists near the end of World War II.
The town needs many things: food, water, clean streets, affordable goods, safety, and a new bell for its tower. The Fascists removed the 700-year-old bell to melt it down for bullets, leaving the town without its most prized icon.
Joppolo does his best to treat the local citizens fairly and honestly, including trying to get a new bell. Despite bad behavior by many other American soldiers, he gradually wins the townspeople's hearts.
John Hersey's 1944 novel "A Bell for Adano" paints a plausible picture of life in a town suffering through war and occupation. He shows some of the absurdities of military bureaucracy, the selfishness of those clinging to power, the temptations of those in privilege, and the kindness of people trying to help others.
The novel focuses on the civilians affected by the war rather than the actions on the battlefield.
"A Bell for Adano" is a simple story told in a straightforward manner, as one would expect from a journalist like Hersey. And it is a touching story that warmed my heart. I grew to care about Adano and its people and to appreciate Major Joppolo. We need more men like him today.
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