I Kiss Your Hands Many Times
Hearts, Souls, and Wars in Hungary
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Narrated by:
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Marianne Szegedy-Maszak
About this listen
A magnificent wartime love story about the forces that brought the author’s parents together and those that nearly drove them apart
Marianne Szegedy-Maszák’s parents, Hanna and Aladár, met and fell in love in Budapest in 1940. He was a rising star in the foreign ministry - a vocal anti-Fascist who was in talks with the Allies when he was arrested and sent to Dachau. She was the granddaughter of Manfred Weiss, the industrialist patriarch of an aristocratic Jewish family that owned factories, were patrons of intellectuals and artists, and entertained dignitaries at their baronial estates. Though many in the family had converted to Catholicism decades earlier, when the Germans invaded Hungary in March 1944, they were forced into hiding. In a secret and controversial deal brokered with Heinrich Himmler, the family turned over their vast holdings in exchange for their safe passage to Portugal.
Aladár survived Dachau, a fragile and anxious version of himself. After nearly two years without contact, he located Hanna and wrote her a letter that warned that he was not the man she’d last seen, but he was still in love with her. After months of waiting for visas and transit, she finally arrived in a devastated Budapest in December 1945, where at last they were wed.
Framed by a cache of letters written between 1940 and 1947, Szegedy-Maszák’s family memoir tells the story, at once intimate and epic, of the complicated relationship Hungary had with its Jewish population - the moments of glorious humanism that stood apart from its history of anti-Semitism - and with the rest of the world. She resurrects in riveting detail a lost world of splendor and carefully limns the moral struggles that history exacted - from a country and its individuals.
©2013 Marianne Szegedy-Maszák (P)2013 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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By: Kati Marton
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Lioness
- Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel
- By: Francine Klagsbrun
- Narrated by: Jo Anna Perrin
- Length: 32 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Golda Meir was a world figure unlike any other. Born in tsarist Russia in 1898, she immigrated to America in 1906 and grew up in Milwaukee, where from her earliest years she displayed the political consciousness and organizational skills that would eventually catapult her into the inner circles of Israel's founding generation. Moving to mandatory Palestine in 1921 with her husband, the passionate socialist joined a kibbutz but soon left and was hired at a public works office by the man who would become the great love of her life.
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The persistent mispronunciations of Hebrew and Yiddish words ruined this performance
- By YH-O on 12-30-18
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The Home That Was Our Country
- By: Alia Malek
- Narrated by: Alia Malek
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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At the Arab Spring's hopeful start, Alia Malek returned to Damascus to reclaim her grandmother's apartment, which had been lost to her family since Hafez al-Assad came to power in 1970. Its loss was central to her parents' decision to make their lives in America. In chronicling the people who lived in the Tahaan building, past and present, Alia portrays the Syrians—the Muslims, Christians, Jews, Armenians, and Kurds—who worked, loved, and suffered in close quarters, mirroring the political shifts in their country
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Syria as never read before
- By rami hachwi on 09-17-18
By: Alia Malek
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In the Garden of Beasts
- Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
- By: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history. A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his wife, son, and flamboyant daughter, Martha. At first Martha is entranced by the parties and pomp, and the handsome young men of the Third Reich with their infectious enthusiasm for restoring Germany to a position of world prominence. Enamored of the “New Germany,” she has one affair after another....
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I loved it ... and hated it ... simultaneously
- By History on 11-21-11
By: Erik Larson
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East West Street
- On the Origins of "Genocide" and "Crimes Against Humanity"
- By: Philippe Sands
- Narrated by: David Rintoul, Philippe Sands
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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When human rights lawyer Philippe Sands received an invitation to deliver a lecture in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, he began to uncover a series of extraordinary historical coincidences. It set him on a quest that would take him halfway around the world in an exploration of the origins of international law and the pursuit of his own secret family history, beginning and ending with the last day of the Nuremberg Trials.
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Outstanding!
- By lori on 05-07-18
By: Philippe Sands
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Sisters in Resistance
- How a German Spy, a Banker's Wife, and Mussolini's Daughter Outwitted the Nazis
- By: Tilar J. Mazzeo
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1944, Benito Mussolini's daughter, Edda, gave Hitler and her father an ultimatum: release her husband, Galeazzo Ciano, from prison, or risk her leaking her husband's journals to the press. To avoid the peril of exposing Nazi lies, Hitler and Mussolini hunted for the diaries for months, determined to destroy them. Hilde Beetz, a German spy, was deployed to seduce Ciano to learn the diaries' location and take them from Edda. Drawing from in‑depth research and first-person interviews, Mazzeo gives listeners a riveting look into this little‑known moment in history.
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Fascinating WW2 account of women in resistance
- By lgmichael on 10-30-23
By: Tilar J. Mazzeo
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Dancing with the Enemy
- My Family's Holocaust Secret
- By: Paul Glaser
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster, Christa Lewis
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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The gripping story of the author's aunt, a Jewish dance instructor who was betrayed to the Nazis by the two men she loved, yet managed to survive WWII by teaching dance lessons to the SS at Auschwitz. Her epic life becomes a window into the author's own past and the key to discovering his Jewish roots.
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Amazing Unique
- By Nordic Artisan on 05-11-19
By: Paul Glaser
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Indian Summer
- The Secret History of the End of an Empire
- By: Alex von Tunzelmann
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the British Empire withdrew from India, igniting the exhilaration and turmoil of a newly free society. In this vivid, atmospheric popular history, Alex von Tunzelmann chronicles these times through the most prominent figures.
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Such an interesting piece of History made easy
- By Diego on 01-23-12
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The Last Days of the Romanovs
- Tragedy at Ekaterinburg
- By: Helen Rappaport
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Helen Rappaport, an expert in the field of Russian history, brings you the riveting day-by-day account of the last 14 days of the Russian Imperial family, in this first of two books about the Romanovs. The brutal murder of the Russian Imperial family on the night of July 16 to 17, 1918, has long been a defining moment in world history. The Last Days of the Romanovs reveals in exceptional detail how the conspiracy to kill them unfolded.
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GREAT
- By courtney on 08-31-17
By: Helen Rappaport
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The Whisperers
- Private Life in Stalin's Russia
- By: Orlando Figes
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 29 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on a huge range of sources - letters, memoirs, conversations - Orlando Figes tells the story of how Russians tried to endure life under Stalin. Those who shaped the political system became, very frequently, its victims. Those who were its victims were frequently quite blameless. The Whisperers recreates the sort of maze in which Russians found themselves, where an unwitting wrong turn could either destroy a family or, perversely, later save it: a society in which everyone spoke in whispers - whether to protect themselves, their families, neighbours or friends - or to inform on them.
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A Real Life Dystopian Nightmare
- By Timothy on 08-31-18
By: Orlando Figes
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Americans in Paris
- Life and Death under Nazi Occupation
- By: Charles Glass
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In Americans in Paris, tales of adventure, intrigue, passion, deceit, and survival unfold season by season as renowned journalist Charles Glass tells the story of a remarkable cast of expatriates and their struggles in Nazi Paris. Before the Second World War began, approximately thirty thousand Americans lived in Paris, and when war broke out in 1939 almost five thousand remained.
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Informative, but average engagement
- By Leann on 05-09-17
By: Charles Glass
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Lenin
- The Man, the Dictator, and the Master of Terror
- By: Victor Sebestyen
- Narrated by: Jonathan Aris
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on new research, including the diaries, memoirs, and personal letters of both Lenin and his friends, Victor Sebestyen's unique biography - the first in English in nearly two decades - is not only a political examination of one of the most important historical figures of the 20th century but a portrait of Lenin the man. Unexpectedly, Lenin was someone who loved nature, hunting, and fishing and could identify hundreds of species of plants, a despotic ruler whose closest ties and friendships were with women.
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Lenin totally took an extra piece of that cake.
- By John Gathly on 05-14-19
By: Victor Sebestyen
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Defying Hitler
- The Germans Who Resisted Nazi Rule
- By: Gordon Thomas, Greg Lewis
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 22 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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An enthralling story that vividly resurrects the web of everyday Germans who resisted Nazi rule.
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The Righteous Few
- By Linda on 05-19-19
By: Gordon Thomas, and others
What listeners say about I Kiss Your Hands Many Times
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Carole
- 12-08-13
A compelling true story, magnificently written
Would you listen to I Kiss Your Hands Many Times again? Why?
Yes. There are so many historical details and personal elements that it's difficult to fully absorb in one reading/listening experience. Also, it's so lovingly crafted that it's poignancy is worth re-experiencing.
Who was your favorite character and why?
The author and her parents feelings and emotions make them all favorites.
What about Marianne Szegedy-Maszak’s performance did you like?
It is relaxed yet conveys great feeling.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It didn't make me laugh or cry but it did haunt me and stay with me. It was fully engaging.
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1 person found this helpful
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- twin stars
- 01-12-15
An Amazing Story
After having traveled to Hungary, this story brought to life much of what I had learned there.
The audio performance was first rate.
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- Ernesto Forgach
- 03-14-19
Excellent
Loved it. Parallel story in my life. Beautifully written. Ellegant. Brought back my grandfather whom I adored.
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- Eire Stewart
- 11-01-23
View into Hungary’s precarious position in WWII
Well written and nuanced look into some key moments of Hungary’s history during and post WWII as well as the immigration to the US which occurred immediately afterwards. I usually don’t like author read books but this one works well!
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- MKL
- 11-17-15
Travel through the two continents and one century
What an incredible story! You feel completely transported to the tragic times of the last century Hungary.
Thank you for giving us this book read by the author.
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- Sara
- 01-23-15
Quite The Slog Fleshing Out The Family Tree
Let me start with what I liked about the book. When the author wrote about events and people she actually experienced first hand it was wonderful. It was engaging and kept me listening far past the point that I would ordinarily have given up. She captures the Budapest that I have experienced and I loved those parts.
The rest I'm afraid was written in an overly ornate and cumbersomely florid and stilted style. Repetitive and almost circular. The long lists of people with complex family names, properties and belongings once owned--but never really fleshed out through true story telling quickly becomes tiresome.
The narration was one of the biggest problems for me. When authors act as narrators it often goes wrong. In this case it was difficult. Mispronunciation of words with stress placed inconsistently on the wrong syllable peppered the reading. Frequent verbal stumbles mixed with a tone that was cloying and even condescending made it too much. It just ruined it for me. I think this could have been picked up early in production and corrected. I wonder if a different reader might have saved the book?
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23 people found this helpful
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- B Hart
- 11-11-14
Most Writers shouldn't narrate
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
First a different narrator, second, too much jumping around.
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
The love affair.
How could the performance have been better?
Narrated by someone else.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Disappointment
Any additional comments?
There are so many great books on this period of time with teriffic narrators, this for me, wasn't one of them. I'm sure the story would have been great also if told differently and narrated by someone else.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Kathy Weber
- 01-12-15
to educational not a story
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
not experiential
What could Marianne Szegedy-Maszak have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
less info on war more character expansion
Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Marianne Szegedy-Maszak?
sounds like a teacher
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from I Kiss Your Hands Many Times?
not my cup of tea
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2 people found this helpful