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Monsoon Mansion
- A Memoir
- Narrated by: Cinelle Barnes
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
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Publisher's summary
Told with a lyrical, almost-dreamlike voice as intoxicating as the moonflowers and orchids that inhabit this world, Monsoon Mansion is a harrowing yet triumphant coming-of-age memoir exploring the dark, troubled waters of a family’s rise and fall from grace in the Philippines. It would take a young warrior to survive it.
Cinelle Barnes was barely three years old when her family moved into Mansion Royale, a stately ten-bedroom home in the Philippines. Filled with her mother’s opulent social aspirations and the gloriously excessive evidence of her father’s self-made success, it was a girl’s storybook playland. But when a monsoon hits, her father leaves, and her mother’s terrible lover takes the reins, Cinelle’s fantastical childhood turns toward tyranny she could never have imagined. Formerly a home worthy of magazines and lavish parties, Mansion Royale becomes a dangerous shell of the splendid palace it had once been.
In this remarkable ode to survival, Cinelle creates something magical out of her truth - underscored by her complicated relationship with her mother. Through a tangle of tragedy and betrayal emerges a revelatory journey of perseverance and strength, of grit and beauty, and of coming to terms with the price of family - and what it takes to grow up.
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Nanzeen's inauspicious birth in a Bangladeshi village imbues in her a sense of fatalism that she carries across continents. Married off to a man old enough to be her father, Nanzeen moves to London and cares for her family. But gradually she begins to question whether fate controls her or whether she has a hand in her own destiny. She discovers both the complexity that comes with free choice and the depth of her attachment to her husband, her daughters and her new world.
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A truly wonderful book!
- By A M on 11-24-03
By: Monica Ali
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A Golden Age
- A Novel
- By: Tahmima Anam
- Narrated by: Madhur Jaffrey
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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As young widow Rehana Haque awakes one March morning, she might be forgiven for feeling happy. Today she will throw a party for her son and daughter. In the garden of the house she has built, her roses are blooming, her children are almost grown, and beyond their doorstep, the city is buzzing with excitement after recent elections. Change is in the air.
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sad, poignant, thought-provoking, beautiful
- By Rio Delta Wild on 06-04-08
By: Tahmima Anam
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Caramelo
- By: Sandra Cisneros
- Narrated by: Sandra Cisneros
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Lala Reyes’ grandmother is descended from a family of renowned rebozo, or shawl-makers. The striped (caramelo) is the most beautiful of all, and the one that makes its way, like the family history it has come to represent, into Lala’s possession. The novel opens with the Reyes’ annual car trip - a caravan overflowing with children, laughter, and quarrels - from Chicago to “the other side”, Mexico City. It is there, each year, that Lala hears her family’s stories, separating the truth from the “healthy lies” that have ricocheted from one generation to the next.
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Love, family, history, and fantasy, Caramelo
- By Michele on 08-07-20
By: Sandra Cisneros
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Homesick for Another World
- Stories
- By: Ottessa Moshfegh
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan, Richard Poe
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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There's something eerily unsettling about Ottessa Moshfegh's stories, something almost dangerous, while also being delightful and even laugh-out-loud funny. Her characters are all unsteady on their feet in one way or another; they all yearn for connection and betterment, though each in very different ways, but they are often tripped up by their own baser impulses and existential insecurities.
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Funny, Dynamic Writing
- By Sofia Macht on 06-13-18
By: Ottessa Moshfegh
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Her Body and Other Parties
- Stories
- By: Carmen Maria Machado
- Narrated by: Amy Landon
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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In Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her work has earned her comparisons to Karen Russell and Kelly Link, she has a voice that is all her own. In this electric and provocative debut, Machado bends genre to shape startling narratives that map the realities of women's lives and the violence visited upon their bodies.
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Beautiful
- By Anonymous User on 11-17-17
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The Vine of Desire
- By: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Anju and Sudha formed an astounding, almost psychic connection during their childhood in India. When Anju invites Sudha, a single mother in Calcutta, to come live with her and her husband, Sunil, in California, Sudha foolishly accepts, knowing full well that Sunil has long desired her. As Sunil's attraction rises to the surface, the trio must struggle to make sense of the freedoms of America - and of the ties that bind them to India and to one another.
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Vine of desire
- By Mz Shantay on 03-27-21
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The Star Side of Bird Hill
- By: Naomi Jackson
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Two sisters, ages 10 and 16, are exiled from Brooklyn to Bird Hill in Barbados, after their mother can no longer care for them. The young Phaedra and her older sister, Dionne, live, for the summer of 1989, with their grandmother, Hyacinth, a midwife and practitioner of the local spiritual practice of obeah. Dionne spends the summer in search of love, testing her grandmother's limits, and wanting to go home. Phaedra explores Bird Hill, where her family has lived for generations.
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My absolute favorite book of all time
- By Eme on 07-16-15
By: Naomi Jackson
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Make Something Up
- Stories You Can't Unread
- By: Chuck Palahniuk
- Narrated by: Chuck Palahniuk, Scott Sowers, Rich Orlow, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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For years Chuck Palahniuk has reserved his best storytelling for his readings, often choosing to read a new short story instead of whatever novel he is supposed to be promoting. Make Something Up compiles these previously unpublished tales for the very first time, plus the Byliner social media insta-classic "Phoenix" and Palahniuk's most notable pieces from Playboy.
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Plenty of shock, just not enough Palahniuk awe
- By Darwin8u on 06-10-15
By: Chuck Palahniuk
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Tar Baby
- By: Toni Morrison
- Narrated by: Desiree Coleman
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Jadine Childs is a Black fashion model with a white patron, a white boyfriend, and a coat made out of ninety perfect sealskins. Son is a Black fugitive who embodies everything she loathes and desires. As Morrison follows their affair, which plays out from the Caribbean to Manhattan and the deep South, she charts all the nuances of obligation and betrayal between Blacks and whites, masters and servants, and men and women.
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So good that I'm writing my first Audible review!
- By BL on 12-10-11
By: Toni Morrison
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Trading Dreams at Midnight
- By: Diane McKinney-Whetstone
- Narrated by: Shari Peele
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Diane McKinney-Whetstone, the award-winning and best-selling author of Tumbling, presents Trading Dreams at Midnight - - an Essence Book Club Recommended Read. Back in 1984, 15-year-old Neena's mother left and never came back. And now Neena is following in her footsteps.
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Hard to follow
- By Nevada on 08-13-10
What listeners say about Monsoon Mansion
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Yamilee Brice
- 04-28-19
interesting
I liked this story. at times it was hard to follow. I might have enjoyed reading it better as the voice and tone were not really engaging.
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- Amanda Turner
- 05-23-18
Captivating!
I read often and this book had my complete attention from cover to cover. I could not put it down! I will be reading it again!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Sarah Brunson
- 03-21-21
Beautifully written and fully immersive
Cinelle Barnes does a beautiful job both writing and narrating her story. Her descriptions of locations and events create such a clear story that as I listener I felt present in each of her memories. I read a lot of memoirs and I can tell you this is one that will stick with you in an incredible way. I highly recommend it.
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- J
- 10-01-19
Like Reading Poetry
The author's writing style is very poetic and her story is compelling. I highly recommended!
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- EmmyJF
- 10-08-20
Thank you
I just finished this book and have never written a review before, even though I’m an avid reader and read/listen to great books constantly.
I just want to thank Cinelle for her courage in this memoir. It affected me in a different way than all the heart wrenching WW2 books I’ve read. I’m the same generation as the author and it really gave me perspective to hear her story and reflect on my own.
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- KS
- 07-05-18
A Beautiful Intimate Journey of Memories and Strength
Hearing the beautifully crafted word images full of strength and pain told from the authors small yet strong voice was an amazing journey. She is a brilliant woman who doesn’t just have an excellent memory but the ability to weave it into a gorgeous exercise of healing and strength. I’m thankful for her memoir and what it must have taken to share it.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Sandra Mizumoto Posey
- 06-17-19
Loss, Survival, and Transcendence
One would not expect that a girl growing up in an opulent mansion would have to face such despairing hardship, parental neglect, and loss. Cinelle Barnes’ memoir paints a vivid portrait of a lush, dazzling world of wealth and abundance soon destroyed by more than just rain and wind, though these certainly play a part. As his fortunes fall, her father leaves, promising to return. Her mother, ever hungry for love, affirmation, and the status she once held, replaces him with ambitious con man who only brings chaos, violence and ruin into the home. The water in the mansion is turned off to save money, the children left largely to fend for themselves, and the once grand ballroom is transformed into a stadium for chicken fights. How she survives and escapes this world, emerging to recount her life with such grace, is no less than a miracle. This is a thorough immersion into a world both beautiful and horrific.
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- Bigger Jake
- 08-06-18
Quick intro to the Philippines for new visitors
This is an autobiography of a young girl's upbringing in the Philippines where her family goes from riches to rags. As someone who has visited the Philippines six or seven times and is marries to a woman of Filipino descent, the story rings true and provides an introduction to the multiple worlds of the Philippines (first world to third world).
The first half or so when the author describes her upbringing in wealth, living in a great mansion is a little long but interesting.
Economic conditions (and lack of savings) cast her family into economic straits. You will learn the living conditions of many poor Filipinos.
I wish she had continued the story to include more details and facts about her rising to a higher status and migrating to the USA. Perhaps, there is another volume planned with more details in these areas.
At times her language is too "flowery" and descriptive but I believe this is common in such books.
The author reads her book for Audible which adds to the reality of the situations.
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- Katrina
- 05-21-18
engrossing
I read it all the way through without stopping. A truly fascinating tale of survival.
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- MissL
- 11-05-20
Courageous Healing
Anyone who’s experienced childhood trauma at the hands of a caregiver will marvel not only at the author’s courage but also their own courage. It’s one thing to live through the situations, but a whole different thing to relive it in the revisiting as the author did in her retelling. Her strength is my strength.
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