La's Orchestra Saves the World
A Novel
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
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Emily Gray
About this listen
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Pavilion in the Clouds
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1938 and the final days of the British Empire. In a bungalow high up in the green hills above the plains of Ceylon, under a vast blue sky, live the Ferguson family: Bella, a precocious eight-year-old; her father Henry—owner of Pitlochry, a tea plantation—and her mother Virginia. The story centres around the Pavilion in the Clouds, set in the idyllic grounds carved out of the wilderness. But all is not as serene as it seems. Bella is suspicious of her governess, Miss White’s intentions.
-
-
Get Over It
- By SW Clemens on 12-28-22
-
The Strange Case of the Moderate Extremists
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 2 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Detective Ulf Varg from the Department of Sensitive Crimes is often called upon to investigate unusual matters. But rarely is he asked to conduct an inquiry on behalf of his own family. Is such a thing ethical? Adding to Ulf's moral discomfort is the fact that he does not exactly see eye to eye with his younger brother Bjorn - a leading player in one of Sweden's right-wing parties, the Moderate Extremists. Still, family is family, so Ulf finds himself working to uncover the mole leaking secrets to a rival party, the Extreme Moderates.
-
-
I wanted to know who did what.
- By A. Bohn on 07-31-20
-
The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Val Eliot, a young woman working on an English farm during the war, meets Mike, a US Air Force pilot stationed nearby. When Val rescues a Border Collie named Peter Woodhouse, who is being mistreated by his owner, she realizes the dog would actually be safer with Mike. And so Peter Woodhouse finds a new home on the air force base, and Val finds herself falling in love.
-
-
wonderful
- By T. Bellan on 04-23-18
-
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Lisette Lecat
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mma "Precious" Ramotswe sets up a detective agency in Botswana on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, making her the only female detective in the country. At first, cases are hard to come by. But eventually, troubled people come to Precious with a variety of concerns. Potentially philandering husbands, seemingly schizophrenic doctors, and a missing boy who may have been killed by witch doctors all compel Precious to roam about in her tiny van, searching for clues.
-
-
Transcends its Genre
- By Gene on 12-07-03
-
Trains and Lovers
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the words of Alexander McCall Smith: "You feel the rocking of the train, you hear the sound of its wheels on the rails; you are in the world rather than suspended somewhere above it. And sometimes there are conversations to be had, which is what the overarching story in this collection is all about. It is a simple device: people brought together entertain one another with tales of what happened to them on trains. It takes place on a journey I frequently make myself and know well, the journey between Edinburgh and London. It is best read on a train, preferably that one."
-
-
Loved It
- By sharon on 07-20-14
-
44 Scotland Street
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The brilliant Alexander McCall Smith became an international sensation with his New York Times best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels. His award-winning wit, made famous through that series, is fully on display in 44 Scotland Street.
-
-
Smith's answer to Maupin
- By Amazon Customer on 10-23-05
-
The Pavilion in the Clouds
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1938 and the final days of the British Empire. In a bungalow high up in the green hills above the plains of Ceylon, under a vast blue sky, live the Ferguson family: Bella, a precocious eight-year-old; her father Henry—owner of Pitlochry, a tea plantation—and her mother Virginia. The story centres around the Pavilion in the Clouds, set in the idyllic grounds carved out of the wilderness. But all is not as serene as it seems. Bella is suspicious of her governess, Miss White’s intentions.
-
-
Get Over It
- By SW Clemens on 12-28-22
-
The Strange Case of the Moderate Extremists
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 2 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Detective Ulf Varg from the Department of Sensitive Crimes is often called upon to investigate unusual matters. But rarely is he asked to conduct an inquiry on behalf of his own family. Is such a thing ethical? Adding to Ulf's moral discomfort is the fact that he does not exactly see eye to eye with his younger brother Bjorn - a leading player in one of Sweden's right-wing parties, the Moderate Extremists. Still, family is family, so Ulf finds himself working to uncover the mole leaking secrets to a rival party, the Extreme Moderates.
-
-
I wanted to know who did what.
- By A. Bohn on 07-31-20
-
The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Val Eliot, a young woman working on an English farm during the war, meets Mike, a US Air Force pilot stationed nearby. When Val rescues a Border Collie named Peter Woodhouse, who is being mistreated by his owner, she realizes the dog would actually be safer with Mike. And so Peter Woodhouse finds a new home on the air force base, and Val finds herself falling in love.
-
-
wonderful
- By T. Bellan on 04-23-18
-
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Lisette Lecat
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mma "Precious" Ramotswe sets up a detective agency in Botswana on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, making her the only female detective in the country. At first, cases are hard to come by. But eventually, troubled people come to Precious with a variety of concerns. Potentially philandering husbands, seemingly schizophrenic doctors, and a missing boy who may have been killed by witch doctors all compel Precious to roam about in her tiny van, searching for clues.
-
-
Transcends its Genre
- By Gene on 12-07-03
-
Trains and Lovers
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the words of Alexander McCall Smith: "You feel the rocking of the train, you hear the sound of its wheels on the rails; you are in the world rather than suspended somewhere above it. And sometimes there are conversations to be had, which is what the overarching story in this collection is all about. It is a simple device: people brought together entertain one another with tales of what happened to them on trains. It takes place on a journey I frequently make myself and know well, the journey between Edinburgh and London. It is best read on a train, preferably that one."
-
-
Loved It
- By sharon on 07-20-14
-
44 Scotland Street
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The brilliant Alexander McCall Smith became an international sensation with his New York Times best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels. His award-winning wit, made famous through that series, is fully on display in 44 Scotland Street.
-
-
Smith's answer to Maupin
- By Amazon Customer on 10-23-05
-
Chance Developments
- Stories
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie, Jamie Jackson, John Keating, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is said that a picture may be worth a thousand words, but an old photograph can inspire many more. In this beguiling book, Alexander McCall Smith casts his eye over five chanced-upon photographs from the era of black-and-white photography and imagines the stories behind them. Who were those people, what were their stories, why are they smiling, what made them sad?
-
-
Several "I wish that I had written that..."
- By N. David Blocher on 01-20-17
-
The Private Life of Spies and The Exquisite Art of Getting Even
- Stories
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this dual collection of short stories, Alexander McCall Smith brings his trademark humor and warmth to inventive tales of spying and vengeance. In one story, a spy dropped deep into enemy territory manages to disguise himself—quite convincingly—as a nun. In another, an invitation to join the Vatican Secret Service sends a prospective operative down a rabbit hole of controversy and confusion. A third story finds an author, on the brink of public ruin, seeing the error of his ways after an act of kindness saves the day.
-
-
Brilliant
- By C. Gall on 12-12-23
-
My Italian Bulldozer
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Timothy Ackroyd
- Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When writer Paul Stewart heads to the idyllic Italian town of Montalcino to finish his already late book, it seems like the perfect escape from stressful city life. Upon landing, however, things quickly take a turn for the worse when he discovers his hired car is nowhere to be found. With no record of any reservation and no other cars available, it looks like Paul is stuck at the airport. That is, until an enterprising stranger offers him an unexpected alternative.
-
-
Suffused with Wisdom and Humor
- By SW Clemens on 04-17-17
-
Pianos and Flowers
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In these stories, inspired by long-lost photographs, the lives of the people in the frame are imagined and then explored, layer by layer. What must have it like to be them? We share the lives of three sisters, brought up in Penang. We hear of what happened to them, and to their Chinese neighbours caught in the tides of war. We see a group of small boys in a Glasgow slum, their young lives stunted by poverty, and hear how life worked out in contrasting ways for them. We follow a young woman's search for love in the unlikely realm of Egyptian antiquities.
-
-
Rather Depressing
- By sharon on 02-02-21
-
The Misunderstanding of Glencoe
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Paul Smith, Monica Gibb, Kenny Blyth, and others
- Length: 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A full-cast BBC Radio Scotland comedy dramatisation written by Alexander McCall Smith. An Edinburgh couple on holiday in the Highlands discover that centuries-old tensions are still very near the surface. Starring John Buick, Kenny Blyth, Monica Gibb, and Paul Young.
-
-
Laugh your way into understanding human history
- By Natalie on 01-23-13
-
Tiny Tales
- Stories of Romance, Ambition, Kindness, and Happiness
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii, Jamie Jackson, Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 3 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the original Greek financial crisis (when the profligate Gods of Olympus were punished by Odin and the other Norse Gods for their unchecked spending) to a handy unintended benefit of cosmetic surgery; from Pope Ron (the first Australian pope, who wants nothing more than to live quietly) to a rather droll cat named Stanley to Good President Wenceslas (benevolent leader of a snowy land) - these stories are by turns funny, poignant, and deliciously wicked, each one a gift begging to be unwrapped and enjoyed again and again.
-
-
A Wonderful Collection of Pithy Stories
- By Joan Zak on 05-17-21
-
The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
- The Complete BBC Radio Series
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: full cast, Janice Acquah, Nadine Marshall, and others
- Length: 26 hrs and 12 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The complete BBC Radio adaptations of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency featuring Botswana's only female private detective agency, run by the irrepressible Precious Ramotswe. Based on the hugely popular novels and brought to life with music and full casts, these evocative productions return us to Botswana, where Precious has more mysteries to solve.
-
-
Fantastic, an uplifting and joyous production
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 01-05-23
-
A Quiet Life in the Country
- A Lady Hardcastle Mystery, Book 1
- By: T E Kinsey
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lady Emily Hardcastle is an eccentric widow with a secret past. Florence Armstrong, her maid and confidante, is an expert in martial arts. The year is 1908 and they've just moved from London to the country, hoping for a quiet life. But it is not long before Lady Hardcastle is forced out of her self-imposed retirement. There's a dead body in the woods, and the police are on the wrong scent. Lady Hardcastle makes some enquiries of her own, and it seems she knows a surprising amount about crime investigation...
-
-
excellent!
- By J.L. on 02-27-17
By: T E Kinsey
-
The Shell Seekers
- By: Rosamunde Pilcher
- Narrated by: Hayley Atwell
- Length: 19 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the end of a long and useful life, Penelope Keeling's prized possession is The Shell Seekers, painted by her father, and symbolizing her unconventional life, from bohemian childhood to wartime romance. When her grown children learn their grandfather's work is now worth a fortune, each has an idea as to what Penelope should do. But as she recalls the passions, tragedies, and secrets of her life, she knows there is only one answer...and it lies in her heart.
-
-
Narrator Speed
- By TB on 01-18-18
-
A Very English Murder
- A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery, Book 1
- By: Verity Bright
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
England, 1920. Eleanor Swift has spent the last few years travelling the world: taking tea in China, tasting alligators in Peru, escaping bandits in Persia and she has just arrived in England after a chaotic 45-day flight from South Africa. Chipstone is about the sleepiest town you could have the misfortune to meet. But then, from the edge of a quarry, through the driving rain, Eleanor is shocked to see a man shot and killed in the distance. Before she can climb down to the spot, the villain is gone and the body has vanished.
-
-
I wanted to like this so much.
- By BossyFatBabe on 06-23-20
By: Verity Bright
-
Virgins
- An Outlander Short
- By: Diana Gabaldon
- Narrated by: Allan Scott-Douglas
- Length: 3 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mourning the death of his father and gravely injured at the hands of the English, Jamie Fraser finds himself running with a band of mercenaries in the French countryside, where he reconnects with his old friend, Ian Murray. Both are nursing wounds, both have good reason to stay out of Scotland, and both are still virgins despite several opportunities to remedy that deplorable situation with ladies of easy virtue.
-
-
Don't expect an in depth story
- By ELZIE B HICKERSON on 10-30-16
By: Diana Gabaldon
-
The Handmaid's Tale: Special Edition
- By: Margaret Atwood, Valerie Martin - essay
- Narrated by: Claire Danes, full cast, Margaret Atwood, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a violent coup in the United States overthrows the Constitution and ushers in a new government regime, the Republic of Gilead imposes subservient roles on all women. Offred, now a Handmaid tasked with the singular role of procreation in the childless household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife, can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost everything, even her own name.
-
-
Wait! It Mightn't Be What You Think--
- By Gillian on 04-05-17
By: Margaret Atwood, and others
Editorial reviews
Emily Gray’s narration brings vivid life to Lavender, a determinedly no-nonsense bluestocking who, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, finds refuge from a failed marriage in a bucolic English village. There she forms a local orchestra and develops a relationship with Feliks, a flute-playing Polish refugee whom she eventually comes to suspect of being a German spy. Gray’s performance carries reserves of wit and hesitant curiosity towards her new surroundings, her voice conveying a furrowed brow, a quizzical look, and a dry sense of humor, all of which make for an entertaining performance.
Gray is not always helped by her material: Although Alexander McCall Smith is a wildly successful author, with two very popular series of books translated into almost every known language; his latest is an unfocussed affair that doesn’t quite manage to do justice to the very big themes invoked. But only at a few moments does the awkwardness affect Gray’s sparkling performance, notably her handling of the male characters. The supporting cast of country folk are also drawn with a very broad brush, but, again, there is little in the book to support the narrator. Overall her performance is a real gift to the story, bringing spice and liveliness and real involvement to this slender tale.
The story focuses at the dilemma of tending to one’s own garden, Candide-style, in a period of history that demands action and resolve. The great historical forces can feel bolted on to the rest of the narrative, with the characters stumbling over the joints. Also, the author’s attitude towards the importance of music and art in times of war is unclear: Music, we are assured, can "heal the temper of the world", but the presence of a community orchestra seems an unnecessary layer and contributes very little to the story its members are barely visible. Far more convincing is the mirroring of Lavender's feeling that she has betrayed Feliks with Britain's betrayal of the Polish people in the Yalta Conference, and Gray distinctly portrays Lavender’s struggle as well as the character’s underlying moral strength, a quality that is the book’s finest attribute. Dafydd Phillips
Critic reviews
Related to this topic
-
A Change of Climate
- A Novel
- By: Hilary Mantel
- Narrated by: Sandra Duncan
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ralph and Anna Eldred are an exemplary couple, devoting themselves to doing good. 30 years ago as missionaries in Africa, the worst that could happen did. Shattered by their encounter with inexplicable evil, they returned to England, never to speak of it again. But when Ralph falls into an affair, Anna finds no forgiveness in her heart, and 30 years of repressed rage and grief explode, destroying not only a marriage but also their love, their faith, and everything they thought they were.
-
-
Beautifully written
- By Patricia S. on 10-11-15
By: Hilary Mantel
-
44 Scotland Street
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The brilliant Alexander McCall Smith became an international sensation with his New York Times best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels. His award-winning wit, made famous through that series, is fully on display in 44 Scotland Street.
-
-
Smith's answer to Maupin
- By Amazon Customer on 10-23-05
-
The Story of Lucy Gault
- By: William Trevor
- Narrated by: Katherine Borowitz
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Story of Lucy Gault traces the repercussions of a child’s attempt to remain in her beloved home.Threatened with a move from Ireland to England, 9-year-old Lucy runs away, setting off a series of misunderstandings that will eventually touch each inhabitant of her village.
-
-
A Most Heart warming read
- By Elizabeth K. Morse on 12-12-11
By: William Trevor
-
Daughters of Eden
- By: Charlotte Bingham
- Narrated by: Kim Hicks
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Daughters of Eden focuses on the lives and fortunes of four very different young women at the outbreak of the Second World War. Marjorie, left at a boarding school by her emigrating mother; plain Poppy, pushed into marriage with a mean-spirited aristocrat; Kate, despised by her father, but determined to prove herself; and man-mad Lily, who turns out to be the bravest of them all. That all of them are chosen to work undercover for the espionage unit at Eden Park is a surprise, not least to them.
-
-
An amazing book everyone should read.
- By XX on 09-11-05
-
The Forgotten Secret
- By: Kathleen McGurl
- Narrated by: Melanie MacHugh
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s the summer of 1919, and Ellen O’Brien has her whole life ahead of her. Young, in love and leaving home for her first job, the future seems full of shining possibility. But war is brewing, and before long, Ellen and everyone around her are swept up by it. As Ireland is torn apart by the turmoil, Ellen finds herself facing the ultimate test of love and loyalty. A hundred years later and Clare Farrell has inherited a dilapidated old farmhouse in County Meath.
-
-
The Forgotten Secret
- By Amazon Customer on 08-31-20
By: Kathleen McGurl
-
The Sunday Philosophy Club
- An Isabel Dalhousie Mystery
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith, winner of the first-ever Saga Award for Wit, has entertained millions with his beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency mysteries. Now this phenomenally popular author introduces a fresh series, brimming with the charm and humor his stable of dedicated fans can't get enough of.
-
-
Advice For Prospective Listeners
- By DCinMI on 02-18-13
-
A Change of Climate
- A Novel
- By: Hilary Mantel
- Narrated by: Sandra Duncan
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ralph and Anna Eldred are an exemplary couple, devoting themselves to doing good. 30 years ago as missionaries in Africa, the worst that could happen did. Shattered by their encounter with inexplicable evil, they returned to England, never to speak of it again. But when Ralph falls into an affair, Anna finds no forgiveness in her heart, and 30 years of repressed rage and grief explode, destroying not only a marriage but also their love, their faith, and everything they thought they were.
-
-
Beautifully written
- By Patricia S. on 10-11-15
By: Hilary Mantel
-
44 Scotland Street
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The brilliant Alexander McCall Smith became an international sensation with his New York Times best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels. His award-winning wit, made famous through that series, is fully on display in 44 Scotland Street.
-
-
Smith's answer to Maupin
- By Amazon Customer on 10-23-05
-
The Story of Lucy Gault
- By: William Trevor
- Narrated by: Katherine Borowitz
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Story of Lucy Gault traces the repercussions of a child’s attempt to remain in her beloved home.Threatened with a move from Ireland to England, 9-year-old Lucy runs away, setting off a series of misunderstandings that will eventually touch each inhabitant of her village.
-
-
A Most Heart warming read
- By Elizabeth K. Morse on 12-12-11
By: William Trevor
-
Daughters of Eden
- By: Charlotte Bingham
- Narrated by: Kim Hicks
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Daughters of Eden focuses on the lives and fortunes of four very different young women at the outbreak of the Second World War. Marjorie, left at a boarding school by her emigrating mother; plain Poppy, pushed into marriage with a mean-spirited aristocrat; Kate, despised by her father, but determined to prove herself; and man-mad Lily, who turns out to be the bravest of them all. That all of them are chosen to work undercover for the espionage unit at Eden Park is a surprise, not least to them.
-
-
An amazing book everyone should read.
- By XX on 09-11-05
-
The Forgotten Secret
- By: Kathleen McGurl
- Narrated by: Melanie MacHugh
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s the summer of 1919, and Ellen O’Brien has her whole life ahead of her. Young, in love and leaving home for her first job, the future seems full of shining possibility. But war is brewing, and before long, Ellen and everyone around her are swept up by it. As Ireland is torn apart by the turmoil, Ellen finds herself facing the ultimate test of love and loyalty. A hundred years later and Clare Farrell has inherited a dilapidated old farmhouse in County Meath.
-
-
The Forgotten Secret
- By Amazon Customer on 08-31-20
By: Kathleen McGurl
-
The Sunday Philosophy Club
- An Isabel Dalhousie Mystery
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith, winner of the first-ever Saga Award for Wit, has entertained millions with his beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency mysteries. Now this phenomenally popular author introduces a fresh series, brimming with the charm and humor his stable of dedicated fans can't get enough of.
-
-
Advice For Prospective Listeners
- By DCinMI on 02-18-13
-
Celia's House
- By: D. E. Stevenson
- Narrated by: Lesley Mackie
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In name and by birth, Celia was a Dunne. She had inherited the beautiful old family home by the Rydd Water – but was she bound to live her life by the principles of her predecessors? Was there some hidden restraint that compelled her to heed the past? Celia’s house is a moving and poignant story of the struggle between old and young: the older generation anxious to preserve the values they have helped create while their children are determined at all costs to make lives of their own.
-
-
Boarder area of Scotland
- By Jerri C on 03-14-11
By: D. E. Stevenson
-
Dying in the Wool
- A Kate Shackleton Mystery, Book 1
- By: Frances Brody
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bridgestead is a peaceful spot: a babbling brook, rolling hills, and a working mill at its heart. Pretty and remote, nothing exceptional happens...until the day that Master of the Mill Joshua Braithwaite goes missing under dramatic circumstances, never to be heard of again. Now Joshua's daughter is getting married and wants to make one last attempt at finding her father. Kate Shackleton has always loved solving puzzles. So who better to get to the bottom of Joshua's mysterious disappearance?
-
-
Fluff & Nonsense
- By Sara on 01-03-15
By: Frances Brody
-
The Flight of Gemma Hardy
- A Novel
- By: Margot Livesey
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fate has not been kind to Gemma Hardy. Orphaned then neglected, young Gemma seemed destined for a life of hardship and loneliness. Yet her bright spirit burns strong. Fiercely intelligent, singularly determined, Gemma overcomes each challenge and setback, growing stronger and more certain of her path. Now an independent young woman, she accepts a position as an au pair on the remote and beautiful Orkney Islands. But Gemma’s biggest trial is about to begin....
-
-
f you loved Jane Eyre, you will like this novel.
- By Cecilia on 02-09-12
By: Margot Livesey
-
Staying On
- By: Paul Scott
- Narrated by: Paul Shelley
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tusker and Lily Smalley stayed on in India. Given the chance to return ‘home’ when Tusker, once a Colonel in the British Army, retired, they chose instead to remain in the small hill town of Pankot, with its eccentric inhabitants and archaic rituals left over from the days of the Empire. Only the tyranny of their imposing landlady threatens to upset the quiet rhythm of their days.
-
-
A Pleasant Meander
- By Ian C Robertson on 09-22-14
By: Paul Scott
-
The Best Man to Die
- An Inspector Wexford Mystery
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who could have suspected that the exciting stag party for the groom would be the prelude to the murder of his close friend Charlie Hatton? And Charlie's death was only the first in a string of puzzling murders involving small-time gangsters, cheating husbands, and loose women. Now Chief Inspector Wexford and his assistant join forces with the groom to track down a killer....
-
-
Classic who-dunnit
- By Kathi on 02-24-13
By: Ruth Rendell
-
A Fatal Inversion
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: William Gaminara
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the long, hot summer of 1976, a group of young people is camping in Wyvis Hall. Adam, Rufus, Shiva, Vivien and Zosie hardly ask why they are there or how they are to live; they scavenge, steal and sell the family heirlooms. Ten years later, the bodies of a woman and child are discovered in the Hall’s animal cemetery. Which woman? And whose child?
-
-
Oh my!
- By Jill on 06-15-14
By: Barbara Vine
-
Season of Darkness
- By: Maureen Jennings
- Narrated by: Tom Craig
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following the disastrous retreat of the British army from Dunkirk in 1940, England is plunged into a state of fear. The threat of a German invasion is real, and many German Nationals are interned in camps across the country. One such camp is on the ancient moor land of Prees Heath, near the small town of Whitchurch in Shropshire, where Tom Tyler is the sole detective inspector. Young women from all walks of life have joined the Land Army, to help desperate farmers keep the country fed. Then one turns up dead.
-
-
much better than average historical detective
- By connie on 09-30-12
By: Maureen Jennings
-
Asylum
- By: Patrick McGrath
- Narrated by: Sir Ian McKellen
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1959 Stella Raphael joins her psychiatrist husband, Max, at his new posting - a maximum-security hospital for the criminally insane. Stella soon falls under the spell of Edgar Stark, a brilliant sculptor who has been confined to the hospital for murdering his wife in a psychotic rage. But Stella's knowledge of Edgar's crime is no hindrance to the volcanic attraction that ensues -a passion that will consume Stella's sanity and destroy her and the lives of those around her.
-
-
So enjoyed this book!
- By Mebythesea on 10-07-08
By: Patrick McGrath
-
The Brimstone Wedding
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Unlike the other residents of Middleton Hall, Stella is elegant, smart and in control. Only Jenny, her care assistant, knows that she harbours a painful secret, and only she can prevent Stella from carrying it to the grave. As the women talk, Jenny pieces together the answers to many questions that arise: Why has she kept possession of a house that her family don’t know about? What happened there that holds the key to a distant tragedy?
-
-
Amazing reader elevates book to a higher level
- By Doggy Bird on 10-04-14
By: Barbara Vine
-
The Muse
- A Novel
- By: Jessie Burton
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Maria Elena Infantino
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
England, 1967. Odelle Bastien is a Caribbean émigré trying to make her way in London. When she starts working at the prestigious Skelton Institute of Art, she discovers a painting rumored to be the work of Isaac Robles, a young artist of immense talent and vision whose mysterious death has confounded the art world for decades. The excitement over the painting is matched by the intrigue around the conflicting stories of its discovery.
-
-
Mixed narration
- By Amy Fleury on 08-05-16
By: Jessie Burton
-
A Share in Death
- By: Deborah Crombie
- Narrated by: Michael Deehy
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A week's holiday in a luxurious hotel is just what Scotland Yard's Superintendent Duncan Kincaid needs. But his vacation ends dramatically with the discovery of a dead body in the whirlpool bath. Despite a suspicious lack of cooperation from the local constabulary, Kincaid's keen sense of duty won't allow him to ignore the heinous crime, impelling him to send for his enthusiastic young assistant, Sergeant Gemma James. But the stakes are raised significantly when a second murder occurs....
-
-
series readers, start here
- By connie on 02-09-13
By: Deborah Crombie
-
Enemy Brothers (Living History Library)
- By: Constance Savery
- Narrated by: Paul L. Coffey
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
British airman Dym Ingleford is convinced that the young German prisoner, Max Eckermann, is his brother Anthony, who was kidnapped years before. Raised in the Nazi ideology, Tony has by chance tumbled into British hands. Dym has brought him back, at least temporarily, to the family he neither remembers nor will acknowledge as his own.
-
-
More people should read this wonderful story!!!
- By E.F.B. on 08-02-18
By: Constance Savery
What listeners say about La's Orchestra Saves the World
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- MJ
- 01-10-10
Another good listen
As always, Alexander McCall Smith writes an interesting, engaging story. This book is a wonderful listen.
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
- Judith Barabas
- 06-26-10
A World Away
I just started to listen to books while driving home from work. "La" was a great escape to another time and place at the end of a busy day. McCall Smith captures the small things that make up a woman's life with great insight. He never fails to please. Emily Gray narrates with style!
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
- Pamela Harvey
- 12-17-09
McCall Smith Does It Again!
My only complaint with McCall Smith's books is that they are too short! But I guess that's also one of his books' assets - the writing always conveys the breadth of complex ideas and issues that we all face as we traverse the planet, with such economy of expression and lightness of touch, that it seems there is not one extra word or sentence.
And now, with "La's Orchestra" he brings to life the civilian world of WW II with such clarity and resonance it feels as though he could be talking about things that happened yesterday.
When I am in the middle of an Alexander McCall Smith listen, I always feel as though I am with a friend. I think that Precious Ramotswe of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Isabel Dalhousie of the eponymous series, and now La, are all soul mates, rendered in perfect nuance and salient, luxuriant, radiant detail by Alexander McCall Smith. It's always a bit of a downer when and one of these books ends, and sometimes I feel I need a support group for McCall Smith addicts! Fortunately for like-minded readers, McCall Smith is prolific, and one does not have to wait very long for Mme. Ramotswe or Isabel Dalhousie to reappear. Let's hope we see more of La, as well.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Harriet
- 05-21-12
Wonderful historical novel
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes. It's a terrific read, very enjoyable, and also a sophisticated little piece of writing.
What was one of the most memorable moments of La's Orchestra Saves the World?
I don't think in terms of memorable moments.
Which character – as performed by Emily Gray – was your favorite?
I don't have favorite characters.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes.
Any additional comments?
Alexander McCall Smith is underrated because he's such a good read. The way he twists this story, reveals who was involved in the first scene only near the end, avoids cheap tricks, gets inside characters heads...this is a sophisticated writer.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- NoBoxes
- 12-27-09
Alexander McCall Smith Does It Again
Alexander McCall Smith does it again in this fabulous historical book. He transports the reader back in time when life went forward at a slower pace, reinforcing timeless principles; never give up and it only takes one person to make a lasting difference.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rebekah Hazleton
- 01-03-15
narrator was perfect,
It's a lovely story, less humor than usual, which I missed, but highly recommend reading it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- Benedict
- 01-26-10
A trip back into time
I really liked Alexander McCall Smith's new book. Being English myself helps, but the best part is the author's *amazing* ability to move me back into time during which England was being attacked by Germany in WWII.
The story is itself charming, as usual for Mr. Smith, but what got me was I could see and almost feel how it must have been to be "on the ground" at that time and realize Hitler and the Germans might actually conquer England. To not know how it would all turn out in the end.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Lee
- 05-14-10
A change, but good
This is different from other AMCS books. I recommend it.
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
- June W.
- 11-10-11
This quiet story stole my heart.
Totally different for AM Smith. I really loved this book. It is one that I told my friends about. Set in England during WW2, it is inspiring and lovely.
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
- J.
- 02-15-12
haunting, thoughtful
If you could sum up La's Orchestra Saves the World in three words, what would they be?
loads of atmosphere
If you’ve listened to books by Alexander McCall Smith before, how does this one compare?
musing, quiet, not as clever or rollicking as Scotland Street series -author and listener try hard to put themselves in the time and place
Which scene was your favorite?
rushing through the rain to the farm by bike - or perhaps the moment of looking up as the concert begins and there he is in the woodwind section
Who was the most memorable character of La's Orchestra Saves the World and why?
mostly told from La's point of view: she tries to understand everyone - farm folk were particularly nicely evoked
Any additional comments?
not nearly enough bookmark breaks for skipping forward and back in case you missed something: not even one per chapter, but something like one every eight chapters--drove me crazy!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!