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Four Seasons in Japan
- Narrated by: Hanako Footman
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
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Publisher's summary
Brought to you by Penguin
Flo is sick of Tokyo. Suffering from a crisis in confidence, she is stuck in a rut, her translation work has dried up and she's in a relationship that's run its course. That's until she stumbles upon a mysterious book left by a fellow passenger on the Tokyo Subway. From the very first page, Flo is transformed and immediately feels compelled to translate this forgotten novel, a decision which sets her on a path that will change her life...
It is a story about Ayako, a fierce and strict old woman who runs a coffee shop in the small town of Onomichi, where she has just taken guardianship of her grandson, Kyo. Haunted by long-buried family tragedy, both have suffered extreme loss and feel unable to open up to each other. As Flo follows the characters across a year in rural Japan, through the ups and downs of the pair's burgeoning relationship, she quickly realises that she needs to venture outside the pages of the book to track down its elusive author. And, as her two protagonists reveal themselves to have more in common with her life than first meets the eye, the lines between text and translator converge. The journey is just beginning.
From the author of The Cat and the City, Four Seasons in Japan is a gorgeously crafted book-within-a-book about literature, purpose and what it is to belong.
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Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.
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intriguing but skip if triggered by child abuse
- By Amazon Customer on 05-16-19
By: Colleen Hoover
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Tansy Bloom, Monster Hunter
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Three months ago, Tansy Bloom quit monster hunting. Since then, she’s been trying to live a normal life (whatever that means), but ending up single, unemployed, and living on a boat outside her godfather’s pub definitely wasn’t part of the plan. So, when Tansy’s ex-husband – fellow monster hunter Rex Barclay – turns up like a bad penny and asks for her help with his latest investigation, Tansy reluctantly agrees. At first, the job appears to be a straightforward monster hunt – following a spate of large creature sightings, Rex believes a werewolf is on the loose in Norfolk.
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Great storytelling
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Her Second Husband
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Then: Linda has it all: a gorgeous home, a devoted husband, two loving daughters. But she throws it all away to chase an impossible dream. Now: Linda is alone and penniless, living in a shabby rented flat. With nothing to lose, she signs up to a dating app for the over 50s. But the one man who responds to her profile, a man calling himself Tony Fortin, is not who he says he is. Linda recognises him immediately. He’s Marcus, her second husband. But that’s impossible. Marcus died eight months ago. He drowned off the coast of Corfu.
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Tedious Read
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The Worst of You
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- Narrated by: Sarah Desjardins
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Original Recording
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In The Worst of You, just-wed architects Timo and Nia flee a murder scene, setting in motion a chain reaction of lies and betrayals that threaten to unravel everything they have built together. Twisted and propulsive, this thriller is told from the alternating perspectives of the couple and those close to them on Williwaw Island, each with their own motive to use the outcome of the murder case to their advantage. When a huge storm sweeps up the coast, trapping everyone on tiny Williwaw Island, it’s a race against time—and the elements — to stop the murderer from striking again.
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A boring drawn out simplistic plot
- By RJD on 05-31-24
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Home Is Where the Bodies Are
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After their mother passes, three estranged siblings reunite to sort out her estate. Beth, the oldest, never left home. She stayed with her mom, caring for her until the very end. Nicole, the middle child, has been kept at arm’s length due to her ongoing battle with a serious drug addiction. Michael, the youngest, lives out of state and hasn’t been back to their small Wisconsin town since their father ran out on them seven years before.
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Perfect Audio.
- By Black Women Read Too on 05-19-24
By: Jeneva Rose
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Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection
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Ever since he made his first appearance in A Study In Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes has enthralled and delighted millions of fans throughout the world. Now Audible is proud to present Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, read by Stephen Fry. A lifelong fan of Doyle's detective fiction, Fry has narrated the definitive collection of Sherlock Holmes - four novels and four collections of short stories. And, exclusively for Audible, Stephen has written and narrated eight insightful introductions, one for each title.
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Chapter Guide!
- By Katya Rice on 05-25-18
By: Arthur Conan Doyle, and others
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When Englishman Chris Broad landed in a rural village in northern Japan he wondered if he'd made a huge mistake. With no knowledge of the language and zero teaching experience, was he was about to be the most quickly fired English teacher in Japan's history? Abroad in Japan charts a decade of living in a foreign land and the chaos and culture clash that comes with it. Packed with hilarious and fascinating stories, this book seeks out to unravel one the world's most mysterious and impenetrable cultures.
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What listeners say about Four Seasons in Japan
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- Roger Winright
- 04-11-24
Therapeutic Background Sound
Highly enjoyed hearing this beautiful novel. The characters are amazing people and the story flows beautifully.
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- Zach
- 04-09-24
Beautiful tale, setting, and narration
This kind of book is very far from my norm - I typically read nonfiction and especially histories (ironic, considering a particular scene in this book). I don't have a particular interest in Japan moreso than I do any other country. But I really enjoyed the narrator's vocal work in the video game Baldur's Gate 3, had a spare credit, and decided to see if she had done any audiobook narration on a whim. This book looked the most interesting, so I decided to give it a shot. I'm very glad I did.
The overall, absolute bare-bones summary of this book, is perhaps nothing special. It's a story-within-a-story where both layers feature inherently depressed and listless characters doing their best under less than ideal circumstances. But what makes the story shine is just how well-crafted everything is. The outer, framing story, featuring translator Flo, is compelling enough to get you to sympathize with her as tries to work through her rut. But the inner story, a coming of age tale featuring 19 year old Kyo, born and raised in Tokyo, foisted upon his old-school grandmother Ayako in a provincial, mountainous town, is the real star.
Yes, Kyo sometimes acts like an idiot and makes several stupid decisions throughout the first half of the book. Yes, Ayako is overly strict when she should probably have good reason to know better given her past history. It doesn't matter. The characters have good reasons to act the way they do. They are relatable. They are well explored. You root for them (and Flo) to overcome their issues, accomplish their goals, and learn to communicate with the ones they care about, about the issues that matter.
Japan itself is also a character in this book, and it's really well done. From the lively but sometimes suffocating confines of Tokyo, to provincial but captivating Onomichi, to Hiroshima, where the weight of history is well-represented, the author's love for the country really shines through and adds to the story's weight. I was going to say that it's difficult to remember that he's a Westerner rather than a Japanese native as you are going through the text, but perhaps this is inaccurate. Perhaps the fact that he *is* a Westerner and thus is taking special time and effort to display the beauty and complexity of the country as he sees it, but still from a Westerner's perspective, is what makes the story and the descriptions work so well. Perhaps a native would only gloss over the various descriptions of everyday settings, considering them unimportant to the tale. I wouldn't know. This setup works very well. That's enough for me.
As for the narration, it is superb. Hanako Footman's vocal work was what drew me here to the first place and she delivers here, injecting enough differences in her characters to make them stand out and putting the exact right amount of emotion in every scene to really make you feel what the characters are going through at any given moment. I won't comment on the accuracy of her pronunciation of various Japanese words, as I have no experience with the language, but they sure sound correct to me.
I played this audiobook on a long drive, winding through highways with mountains in the background, I think this only adds to the atmosphere. It really allowed me to immerse myself in the characters and the setting, and I was almost sad when I finally got to my destination and I still had some of the book to go. I strongly recommend both this book and listening to it under the exact circumstances that I did. A lovely experience from start to finish.
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