Signal Fires Audiobook By Dani Shapiro cover art

Signal Fires

A Novel

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Signal Fires

By: Dani Shapiro
Narrated by: Dani Shapiro
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About this listen

NATIONAL BEST SELLER • From the beloved author of Inheritance: "a haunting, moving, and propulsive exploration of family secrets” (Meg Wolitzer, author of The Interestings)

Two families. One night. A constellation of lives changed forever.

A
TIME Best Fiction Book of the Year • A Washington Post Notable Work of Fiction • A Real Simple Best Book of the Year

An ancient majestic oak stands beneath the stars on Division Street. And under the tree sits Ben Wilf, a retired doctor, and ten-year-old Waldo Shenkman, a brilliant, lonely boy who is pointing out his favorite constellations. Waldo doesn’t realize it but he and Ben have met before. And they will again, and again. Across time and space, and shared destiny.

Division Street is full of secrets. An impulsive lie begets a secret—one which will forever haunt the Wilf family. And the Shenkmans, who move into the neighborhood many years later, bring secrets of their own.. Spanning fifty kaleidoscopic years, on a street—and in a galaxy—where stars collapse and stories collide, these two families become bound in ways they never could have imagined.

Urgent and compassionate, Signal Fires is a magical story for our times, a literary tour de force by a masterful storyteller at the height of her powers. A luminous meditation on family, memory, and the healing power of interconnectedness.

©2022 Dani Shapiro (P)2022 Random House Audio
Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Heartfelt
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Critic reviews

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK: LitHub, BookPage, Library Journal, The Millions, She Reads

Signal Fires is an urgent and compassionate meditation on memory, time, and space. Shapiro has created a world that's as wrenching as it is wondrous.”—Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being

Signal Fires is a haunting, moving, and propulsive exploration of family secrets.”—Meg Wolitzer, author of The Female Persuasion

“Acclaimed novelist/memoirist Shapiro (Inheritance) writes with compassion and a deep understanding of the damage that secrets wreak. Shapiro’s first novel in 15 years was well worth the wait.”Library Journal

Beautiful Storytelling • Complex Characters • Emotional Depth • Interconnected Lives • Soothing Voice • Perfect Timing
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This could have been a much better listen had they hired an actual narrator to read the book. The author does a horrible job and sounds like a robot half the time.

Horrible narration

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The story and plot were good but as most books read by the author instead of read by an actor fall short. While an actor can bring the author’s words to life this story struggled. I almost stopped reading on 3 different occasions because the monotone and story line were depressing. But the story and characters were compelling enough to make me continue to forge on. I would read/listen more from this author if she learns to pay true actors to read her works for her.

Read the book don’t listen

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This story and its characters moved me deeply. It’s a beautiful story about the transcendence of time and the eternal nature of the experiences and people who shape us. I loved that the author read her own work; it was clear she had an emotional investment in each one. Highly recommend.

Beautiful

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This book is extraordinarily lovely. The words are almost poetic and the narration very well done. It brought tears to my eyes from the beauty and I feel it would be helpful to anyone who has ever lost a loved one. Highly recommended!

Excellent

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Characters Are rich with meaning,, & believable emotions. Descriptions are well crafted, and topics timely. References to Jewish customs also contemporary. Keeps your interest and writing style is wonderful. Audible reader did a great job!

Loved characters

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Could not really feel the narrator. She sounded robotic. No depth or emothlion. However, this was voted for in my book club, and I wanted to finish it. I'm glad I did because aside from the narration, it was good writing. The story itself was sad and honestly depressing at times, but had a happier ending that sanded all the painful, jagged edges down. Real people, real problems, real life.

Sad stories, good ending

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While short, this book is finely written and dense with a good story and interesting characters. Author did a respectable job reading and I feel that we listeners benefited by hearing the author’s intentions. On the other hand, I needed and wanted to give this audiobook more concentration than usual, so for some, reading rather than listening might be a better choice.

Well worth your time

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When Covid became part of the end of the book, and the author mentions the “mad man in the White House” and brought politics into the story unnecessarily, she ruined an otherwise nice story.

Liked it until the last couple of chapters

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The author's narration is fantastic! Family secrets will come to haunt and affect everyone's life. A cautionary tale.

A must read! Touches the heart and soul!

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I really wanted to like this book but I found myself wanting it to be over soon. It had a really good idea for the book and it really wanted to be profound but it felt like it built you up to this great peak to only be let down.

Too much

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