
A Bend in the Stars
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Therese Plummer
-
Edoardo Ballerini
-
By:
-
Rachel Barenbaum
About this listen
For fans of All the Light We Cannot See and The Women in the Castle comes a riveting literary novel that is at once an epic love story and a heart-pounding journey across WWI-era Russia, about an ambitious young doctor and her scientist brother in a race against Einstein to solve one of the greatest mysteries of the universe.
In Russia, in the summer of 1914, as war with Germany looms and the czar's army tightens its grip on the local Jewish community, Miri Abramov and her brilliant physicist brother, Vanya, are facing an impossible decision. Since their parents drowned fleeing to America, Miri and Vanya have been raised by their babushka, a famous matchmaker who has taught them to protect themselves at all costs: to fight, to kill if necessary, and always to have an escape plan. But now, with fierce, headstrong Miri on the verge of becoming one of Russia's only female surgeons, and Vanya hoping to solve the final puzzles of Einstein's elusive theory of relativity, can they bear to leave the homeland that has given them so much?
Before they have time to make their choice, war is declared, and Vanya goes missing, along with Miri's fiancé. Miri braves the firing squad to go looking for them both. As the eclipse that will change history darkens skies across Russia, not only the safety of Miri's own family but the future of science itself hangs in the balance.
Grounded in real history - and inspired by the solar eclipse of 1914 - A Bend in the Stars offers a heartstopping account of modern science's greatest race amid the chaos of World War I and a love story as epic as the railways crossing Russia.
©2019 Rachel Barenbaum (P)2019 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Those Who Are Saved
- By: Alexis Landau
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld, Holly Linneman, Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a Russian Jewish émigré to France, Vera's wealth cannot protect her or her four-year-old-daughter, Lucie, once the Nazis occupy the country. After receiving notice that all foreigners must report to an internment camp, Vera has just a few hours to make an impossible choice: Does she subject Lucie to the horrid conditions of the camp, or does she put her into hiding with her beloved and trusted governess, safe until Vera can retrieve her? Believing the war will end soon, Vera chooses to leave Lucie in safety.
-
-
Amazing story, great performance
- By M Davis on 03-01-21
By: Alexis Landau
-
The Women of Chateau Lafayette
- By: Stephanie Dray
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert, Emma Bering, Rachel L. Jacobs
- Length: 23 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An epic saga from New York Times best-selling author Stephanie Dray based on the true story of an extraordinary castle in the heart of France and the remarkable women bound by its legacy.
-
-
An absolute masterpiece of a book!
- By Kindle Customer on 05-15-21
By: Stephanie Dray
-
Atomic Anna
- By: Rachel Barenbaum
- Narrated by: Traci Odom, Natalie Naudus, Emily Lawrence, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1986, renowned nuclear scientist Anna Berkova is sleeping in her bed in the Soviet Union when Chernobyl’s reactor melts down. It’s the exact moment she tears through time—and it’s an accident. When she opens her eyes, she’s landed in 1992 only to discover Molly, her estranged daughter, shot in the chest. Molly, with her dying breath, begs Anna to go back in time and stop the disaster, to save Molly’s daughter Raisa, and put their family’s future on a better path.
-
-
I wanted to love this book
- By N McCoy on 10-26-22
By: Rachel Barenbaum
-
The Last Checkmate
- A Novel
- By: Gabriella Saab
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maria Florkowska is many things: daughter, avid chess player, and, as a member of the Polish underground resistance in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, a young woman brave beyond her years. Captured by the Gestapo, she is imprisoned in Auschwitz, but while her family is sent to their deaths, she is spared. Realizing her ability to play chess, the sadistic camp deputy, Karl Fritzsch, decides to use her as a chess opponent to entertain the camp guards. However, once he tires of exploiting her skills, he has every intention of killing her.
-
-
Desperate Girl, Powerful Story
- By Syd Young on 10-29-21
By: Gabriella Saab
-
Courage, My Love
- By: Kristin Beck
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the Nazi occupation of Rome begins, two courageous young women are plunged deep into the Italian Resistance to fight for their freedom in this captivating debut novel.
-
-
If this is ms. Becks debut novel then she should have a very successful career
- By paula wright on 07-07-21
By: Kristin Beck
-
The Diamond Eye
- A Novel
- By: Kate Quinn
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the snowbound city of Kiev, wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son—but Hitler’s invasion of Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle and sent to join the fight, Mila must forge herself from studious girl to deadly sniper—a lethal hunter of Nazis known as Lady Death. When news of her three hundredth kill makes her a national heroine, Mila finds herself torn from the bloody battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America on a goodwill tour.
-
-
Excellent narration!
- By Denise Diener on 04-15-22
By: Kate Quinn
-
Those Who Are Saved
- By: Alexis Landau
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld, Holly Linneman, Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a Russian Jewish émigré to France, Vera's wealth cannot protect her or her four-year-old-daughter, Lucie, once the Nazis occupy the country. After receiving notice that all foreigners must report to an internment camp, Vera has just a few hours to make an impossible choice: Does she subject Lucie to the horrid conditions of the camp, or does she put her into hiding with her beloved and trusted governess, safe until Vera can retrieve her? Believing the war will end soon, Vera chooses to leave Lucie in safety.
-
-
Amazing story, great performance
- By M Davis on 03-01-21
By: Alexis Landau
-
The Women of Chateau Lafayette
- By: Stephanie Dray
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert, Emma Bering, Rachel L. Jacobs
- Length: 23 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An epic saga from New York Times best-selling author Stephanie Dray based on the true story of an extraordinary castle in the heart of France and the remarkable women bound by its legacy.
-
-
An absolute masterpiece of a book!
- By Kindle Customer on 05-15-21
By: Stephanie Dray
-
Atomic Anna
- By: Rachel Barenbaum
- Narrated by: Traci Odom, Natalie Naudus, Emily Lawrence, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1986, renowned nuclear scientist Anna Berkova is sleeping in her bed in the Soviet Union when Chernobyl’s reactor melts down. It’s the exact moment she tears through time—and it’s an accident. When she opens her eyes, she’s landed in 1992 only to discover Molly, her estranged daughter, shot in the chest. Molly, with her dying breath, begs Anna to go back in time and stop the disaster, to save Molly’s daughter Raisa, and put their family’s future on a better path.
-
-
I wanted to love this book
- By N McCoy on 10-26-22
By: Rachel Barenbaum
-
The Last Checkmate
- A Novel
- By: Gabriella Saab
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maria Florkowska is many things: daughter, avid chess player, and, as a member of the Polish underground resistance in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, a young woman brave beyond her years. Captured by the Gestapo, she is imprisoned in Auschwitz, but while her family is sent to their deaths, she is spared. Realizing her ability to play chess, the sadistic camp deputy, Karl Fritzsch, decides to use her as a chess opponent to entertain the camp guards. However, once he tires of exploiting her skills, he has every intention of killing her.
-
-
Desperate Girl, Powerful Story
- By Syd Young on 10-29-21
By: Gabriella Saab
-
Courage, My Love
- By: Kristin Beck
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the Nazi occupation of Rome begins, two courageous young women are plunged deep into the Italian Resistance to fight for their freedom in this captivating debut novel.
-
-
If this is ms. Becks debut novel then she should have a very successful career
- By paula wright on 07-07-21
By: Kristin Beck
-
The Diamond Eye
- A Novel
- By: Kate Quinn
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the snowbound city of Kiev, wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son—but Hitler’s invasion of Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle and sent to join the fight, Mila must forge herself from studious girl to deadly sniper—a lethal hunter of Nazis known as Lady Death. When news of her three hundredth kill makes her a national heroine, Mila finds herself torn from the bloody battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America on a goodwill tour.
-
-
Excellent narration!
- By Denise Diener on 04-15-22
By: Kate Quinn
-
A Bridge Across the Ocean
- By: Susan Meissner
- Narrated by: Kim Bubbs
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
February, 1946. World War Two is over, but the recovery from the most intimate of its horrors has only just begun for Annaliese Lange, a German ballerina desperate to escape her past, and Simone Deveraux, the wronged daughter of a French Résistance spy. Now the two women are joining hundreds of other European war brides aboard the renowned RMS Queen Mary to cross the Atlantic and be reunited with their American husbands. Their new lives in the United States brightly beckon until their tightly held secrets are laid bare in their shared stateroom.
-
-
Don't like ghost stories
- By connie nance on 03-18-17
By: Susan Meissner
-
The Little Liar
- A Novel
- By: Mitch Albom
- Narrated by: Mitch Albom
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eleven-year-old Nico Krispis has never told a lie. When the Nazis invade his home in Salonika, Greece, the trustworthy boy is discovered by a German officer, who offers him a chance to save his family. All Nico has to do is persuade his fellow Jewish residents to board trains heading “north,” where new jobs and safety await. Unaware that this is all a cruel ruse, the innocent boy reassures passengers on the station platform every day.
-
-
Timeliness and timelessness
- By JStan on 02-25-24
By: Mitch Albom
-
I Was Anastasia
- A Novel
- By: Ariel Lawhon
- Narrated by: Jane Collingwood, Sian Thomas, Ariel Lawhon
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Russia, July 17, 1918: Under direct orders from Vladimir Lenin, Bolshevik secret police force Anastasia Romanov, along with the entire imperial family, into a damp basement in Siberia where they face a merciless firing squad. None survives. At least that is what the executioners have always claimed.
-
-
Even knowing the true story,still enjoyed the book
- By Emily on 04-02-18
By: Ariel Lawhon
-
The Ladies of the Secret Circus
- By: Constance Sayers
- Narrated by: Emily Lawrence
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paris, 1925: To enter the Secret Circus is to enter a world of wonder - a world where women weave illusions of magnificent beasts, carousels take you back in time, and trapeze artists float across the sky. Bound to her family's circus, it's the only world Cecile Cabot knows until she meets a charismatic young painter and embarks on a passionate affair that could cost her everything. Virginia, 2004: Lara Barnes is on top of the world until her fiancé disappears on their wedding day.
-
-
Not a fan of the narrator
- By Anonymous User on 07-01-21
By: Constance Sayers
-
The Longest Echo
- A Novel
- By: Eoin Dempsey
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan, Will Damron
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Occupied Italy, 1944. In the mountain regions south of Bologna, Liliana Nicoletti’s family finds escaped POW James Foley behind German lines. Committed to the anti-Fascist cause, they deliver him to a powerful band of local partisans. But when the SS launches a brutal attack against the Resistance, Liliana’s community is destroyed. Forging an unbreakable bond, James and Liliana's only hope of survival is to make it to the Allied lines. Twelve years later, fate reunites Liliana, newly widowed, and James, now a journalist for a New York magazine.
-
-
Brilliant
- By Katherine on 02-20-21
By: Eoin Dempsey
-
The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre
- By: Natasha Lester
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alix St. Pierre. An unforgettable name for an unforgettable woman. She grew up surrounded by Hollywood glamor, but, as an orphan, never truly felt part of that world. In 1943, with WWII raging and men headed overseas to fight, she lands a publicity job to recruit women into the workforce. Her skills—persuasion, daring, quick-witted under pressure—catch the attention of the U.S. government and she finds herself with an even bigger assignment: sent to Switzerland as a spy. Soon Alix is on the precipice of something big, very big. But how far can she trust her German informant…?
-
-
Excellent & Captivating
- By Steven Pugh on 02-10-23
By: Natasha Lester
-
The Golden Doves
- A Novel
- By: Martha Hall Kelly
- Narrated by: Jeremy Carlisle Parker, Saskia Maarleveld, Martha Hall Kelly
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
American Josie Anderson and Parisian Arlette LaRue are thrilled to be working in the French resistance, stealing so many Nazi secrets that they become known as the Golden Doves, renowned across France and hunted by the Gestapo. Their courage will cost them everything. When they are finally arrested and taken to the Ravensbrück concentration camp, along with their loved ones, a reclusive Nazi doctor does unspeakable things to Josie’s mother, a celebrated Jewish singer who joined her daughter in Paris when the world seemed bright. And Arlette’s son is stolen from her, never to be seen again.
-
-
Wanted to like it more than I did
- By Nicole on 04-19-23
-
A Fire Sparkling
- By: Julianne MacLean
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor, Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a crushing betrayal by the man she loves, Gillian Gibbons flees to her family home for a much-needed escape, but when she finds an old photograph of her grandmother in the arms of a Nazi officer, Gillian's life gets even more complicated. Rattled by the discovery, Gillian attempts to unravel the truth behind the photos, setting her off on an epic journey through the past..... Rattled by the discovery, Gillian attempts to unravel the truth behind the photos, setting her off on an epic journey through the past....
-
-
Wonderful.
- By Amazon Customer on 08-17-19
By: Julianne MacLean
-
The Riviera House
- By: Natasha Lester
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paris, 1939: The Nazis think Éliane can't understand German. They’re wrong. They think she’s merely cataloging art in a Louvre museum and unaware they’re stealing national treasures for their private collections. They have no idea she’s carefully decoding their notes and smuggling information to the Resistance. But Éliane is playing a dangerous game. Does she dare trust the man she once loved with her secrets, or will he only betray her once again?
-
-
Intriguing story
- By Kristen on 10-11-21
By: Natasha Lester
-
The Magnolia Palace
- A Novel
- By: Fiona Davis
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, 21-year-old Lillian Carter's life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists' models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge
-
-
This isn't my favorite but entertaining
- By Linda on 02-01-22
By: Fiona Davis
-
The Reckoning
- A Novel
- By: John Grisham
- Narrated by: Michael Beck
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pete Banning was Clanton's favorite son, a returning war hero, the patriarch of a prominent family, a farmer, a father, a neighbor, and a faithful member of the Methodist church. Then one cool October morning in 1946, he rose early, drove into town, walked into the church, and calmly shot and killed the Reverend Dexter Bell.
-
-
Time I Won’t Get Back
- By Roma on 10-24-18
By: John Grisham
-
Off the Wild Coast of Brittany
- By: Juliet Blackwell
- Narrated by: Hope Newhouse, Xe Sands
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Natalie Morgen made a name for herself with a memoir about overcoming her harsh childhood after finding a new life in Paris. After falling in love with a classically trained chef, they moved together to his ancestral home, a tiny fishing village off the coast of Brittany. But then Francois-Xavier breaks things off with her without warning, leaving her flat broke and in the middle of renovating the guesthouse they planned to open for business.
-
-
Swept away by this wonderful story
- By pam g on 03-29-21
By: Juliet Blackwell
Critic reviews
"A Bend in the Stars is a vivid and wrenching debut, full not only with the darkness of history but also with hope - a literary saga for fans of The Invisible Bridge and All the Light We Cannot See. Love and war and Relativity weave together seamlessly, and we're left understanding that there's more than one way for the universe to bend." (Rebecca Makkai, author of the National Book Award Finalist The Great Believers)
"Rachel Barenbaum's A Bend in the Stars is a beautiful thrill ride steeped in the history of Czarist Russia, from its poverty-ridden shtetls to its roaring trains, and the awesome lure of science. This is a book of history rewritten, dreams realized, and justice served - a book about relativity, war, hatred, and the weight of our assumptions and our great loves." (Michelle Hoover, author of The Quickening)
"With the timelessness of a folk tale, the twists and turns of an adventure story, and the pleasures of a science thriller, A Bend in the Stars both fills the reader's heart and keeps it beating fast. This novel's strong gravitational pull draws you powerfully alongside Miri and Vanya in their harrowing quests, and its emotional payoff makes you never want to let them go." (Christopher Castellani, author of Leading Men)
What listeners say about A Bend in the Stars
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Helene P. McCabe
- 12-24-19
Religious persecution and struggles of old Russia
This is a family's story. Written by a grand daughter about one family's struggle for greatness and getting out of a crumbling country. It looks at the old russian corruption and how the people lived within these circumstances.
Great love story from beginning to end. Filled with life events that pull at the heart strings. Well written and I would by another book by this author.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jacklyn
- 09-17-21
Loved!
The story started off a little slow but was wonderful. I would definitely recommend and likely listen to again.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Goldie Klein
- 11-01-20
Wonderful historic fiction, compelling narration
Loved the characters, the plot and emotion which built this story. Highly recommended read across every demographic.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anne
- 09-29-20
great book.
best I've read this year. highly recommend if you love historical fiction. 5+ stars! you won't be disappointed.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 06-07-19
Long but worth the effort it takes to finish this.
Epic tale of love war and science. I bet it will be made into a movie.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- BC
- 09-16-22
Chapters were introduced by wrong sequence
Good book.
Errors in production made it unfair to reader and honestly, to the author. I will finish it because my library paper copy is due. But it’s good listening to. Except that “tiny” mistake in production.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Melissa R. Malde
- 08-23-19
Action packed, but a bit hysterical
I think I woukd have liked this better in print. The reading of Miri really made her seem hyper-sensitive and thus unbelievable as a skilled surgeon.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Fitzgig
- 08-28-19
Slow start, slow finish, middle was good
Meh. The first few hours of listening was rather formulaic - seemed designed to build interest of a certain type of reader which did not match me. I kept listening, the middle portion was better - the end was sort of dissapointiing.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- fran ludwig
- 12-03-22
Incredible
This historical novel introduced me to historical events I knew nothing about. Author kept you spellbound and wanting to know what’s next. Highly recommended!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- M. Duignan
- 09-27-19
Time to produce a movie.. couldn't stop listening!
Wonderful uniquely written story! Narration was stupendous. I fell in love with so many characters. The descriptions were so vivid, yet not wordy. Rachel has written her first so well, I'm hoping she'll continue to publish. [Side note: I'm a 48 year old Catholic Philadelphian]
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful