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The Secret Piano
- From Mao's Labor Camps to Bach's Goldberg Variations
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
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Publisher's summary
Zhu Xiao-Mei was three years old when she saw her first piano, a cherished instrument introduced into her family’s Beijing home by her mother. Soon after, the child began to play, developing quickly into a prodigy who immersed herself in the work of such classical masters as Bach and Brahms. Her astonishing proficiency earned her a spot at the Beijing Conservatory at the tender age of 11, where she began laying the foundation for a promising career as a concert pianist. But in 1966, with the onset of the Cultural Revolution, life as she knew it ended abruptly.
The Communist Party’s campaign against culture forced the closure of art schools and resulted in the deportation of countless Chinese, including Xiao-Mei and her entire family. She spent five years in a work camp in Inner Mongolia, suffering under abysmal living conditions and a brutal brainwashing campaign. Yet through it all, Xiao-Mei kept her dream alive, drawing on the power of music to sustain her courage.
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Eunsun Kim was born in North Korea, one of the most secretive and oppressive countries in the modern world. As a child, Eunsun loved her country...despite her school field trips to public executions, daily self-criticism sessions, and the increasing gnaw of hunger as the countrywide famine escalated. By the time she was 11 years old, Eunsun's father and grandparents had died of starvation, and Eunsun too was in danger of starving. Finally her mother decided to escape North Korea with Eunsun and her sister.
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Not Much New Here, but Courage and Hope to Spare
- By Gillian on 03-25-16
By: Sebastien Falletti, and others
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Paper Love
- Searching for the Girl My Grandfather Left Behind
- By: Sarah Wildman
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Years after her grandfather's death, journalist Sarah Wildman stumbled upon a cache of his letters in a file labeled "Correspondence: Patients A-G". What she found inside weren't dry medical histories; instead what was written opened a path into the destroyed world that was her family's prewar Vienna. One woman's letters stood out: those from Valy-Valerie Scheftel, her grandfather's lover who remained behind when he fled Europe six months after the Nazis annexed Austria.
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Compelling and Personal Exploration
- By Murphee on 08-09-23
By: Sarah Wildman
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Things I've Been Silent About
- By: Azar Nafisi
- Narrated by: Naila Azad
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Azar Nafisi, author of the beloved international best seller Reading Lolita in Tehran, now gives us a stunning personal story of growing up in Iran, memories of her life lived in thrall to a powerful and complex mother, against the background of a country's political revolution.
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Family portrait in the frame of history
- By Galina COS on 07-02-16
By: Azar Nafisi
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The House of Government
- A Saga of the Russian Revolution
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- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 45 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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On the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, the epic story of an enormous apartment building where Communist true believers lived before their destruction. The House of Government is unlike any other book about the Russian Revolution and the Soviet experiment.
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Inside saga of the leaders of Bolshevism & the USSR
- By Edward V. Blanchard on 11-05-17
By: Yuri Slezkine, and others
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Tales of Wonder
- By: Huston Smith
- Narrated by: Michael McConnohie
- Length: 5 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Huston Smith, the man who brought the world's religions to the West, was born almost a century ago to missionary parents in China during the perilous rise of the Communist Party. Smith's lifelong spiritual journey brought him face-to-face with many of the people who shaped the 20th century. His extraordinary travels around the globe have taken him to the world's holiest places, where he has practiced religion with many of the great spiritual leaders of our time.
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Takes of wonder for sure, by a wonderful man.
- By Dr. D. Brian Austin on 04-03-19
By: Huston Smith
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And After the Fire
- A Novel
- By: Lauren Belfer
- Narrated by: Xe Sands, Simon Vance
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In the ruins of Germany in 1945, at the end of World War II, American soldier Henry Sachs takes a souvenir, an old music manuscript, from a seemingly deserted mansion and mistakenly kills the girl who tries to stop him. In America in 2010, Henry's niece, Susanna Kessler, struggles to rebuild her life after she experiences a devastating act of violence on the streets of New York City. When Henry dies soon after, she uncovers the long-hidden music manuscript.
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Very disappointing
- By Margalarg on 06-28-19
By: Lauren Belfer
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Lara
- The Untold Love Story and the Inspiration for Doctor Zhivago
- By: Anna Pasternak
- Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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When Stalin came into power in 1924, the Communist government began persecuting dissident writers. Though Stalin spared the life of Boris Pasternak - whose novel in progress, Doctor Zhivago, was suspected of being anti-Soviet - he persecuted Boris' mistress, typist, and literary muse, Olga Ivinskaya. Boris' affair with Olga devastated the straitlaced Pasternaks, and they were keen to disavow Olga's role in Boris' writing process.
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A wonderfully enjoyable read
- By gran 80 on 03-15-17
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Out of the Depths
- The Story of a Child of Buchenwald Who Returned Home at Last
- By: Rabbi Israel Meir Lau
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- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Israel Meir Lau, one of the youngest survivors of Buchenwald, was just eight years old when the camp was liberated in 1945. Descended from a 1,000-year unbroken chain of rabbis, he grew up to become Chief Rabbi of Israel--and like many of the great rabbis, Lau is a master storyteller. Out of the Depths is his harrowing, miraculous, and inspiring account of life in one of the Nazis' deadliest concentration camps, and how he managed to survive against all possible odds.
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Amazing Book, Amazing Man
- By Shari on 01-14-13
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Aleph
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- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Transform your life. Rewrite your destiny. his most personal novel to date, internationally best-selling author Paulo Coelho returns with a remarkable journey of self-discovery. Like the main character in his much-beloved The Alchemist, Paulo is facing a grave crisis of faith. As he seeks a path of spiritual renewal and growth, he decides to begin again: to travel, to experiment, to reconnect with people and the landscapes around him. Setting off to Africa, and then to Europe and Asia via the Trans-Siberian Railway, he initiates a journey to revitalize his energy and passion.
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Strangely compelling read
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By: Paulo Coelho
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Witness
- By: Ariel Burger
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Ariel Burger first met Elie Wiesel at age 15. They studied together and taught together. Witness chronicles the intimate conversations between these two men over decades as Burger sought counsel on matters of intellect, spirituality, and faith while navigating his own personal journey from boyhood to manhood, from student and assistant to rabbi and, in time, teacher. In this profoundly hopeful, thought-provoking, and inspiring audiobook, Burger takes us into Elie Wiesel's classroom, where the art of listening and storytelling conspire to keep memory alive.
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Touching and enlightening
- By Yakira Colish on 03-12-19
By: Ariel Burger
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Mao's Last Dancer
- Young Readers' Edition
- By: Li Cunxin
- Narrated by: Paul English
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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One day, not so very many years ago, a small peasant boy was chosen to study ballet at the Beijing Dance Academy. His mother urged him to take this chance of a lifetime. But Li was only eleven years old and he was scared and lonely, pushed away from all that he had ever known and loved. He hated the strict training routines and the strange place he had been brought to. All he wanted to do was go home - to his mother, father, and six brothers, to his own small village. But soon Li realised that his mother was right. He had the chance to do something special with his life - and he never turned back.
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Happiness rising from the injustise
- By Natasha on 10-29-13
By: Li Cunxin
What listeners say about The Secret Piano
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Syd Young
- 06-01-15
Interesting and Honest
I've had this in my audio queue for a long time. I only found it through the "read this book next" emails that I get from publishers. I'm glad I didn't miss this one. Concert Pianist relives her days in China before and after the cultural revolution. Brutally honest, and still dealing with the guilt of her actions while in childhood, but able to convey the real story. I've never been very taken with Bach. Not enough fire! Give me Motzart, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff! But I can see why Bach saved her, and I'm glad I read her story,and have now found her mp3s on itunes. Anyone who loves music should read this story. I learned as a musician, and as a human.
I will say I was surprised at how brutally honest she was. She carried alot of guilt over her childhood and teen actions due to the brainwashing in the Cultural Revolution. ITs heartbreaking. Something she said really stuck with me. She is now a Christian, although she doesn't proselytize about it. Instead, quite the opposite. She mentioned a church or group she went to that was preaching Christianity the way Mao was preached in China. Of course, she didn't stick with that group. In fact, America didn't free her to worship. Food for thought.
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1 person found this helpful
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- F. Bailey Norwood
- 11-11-14
Great story, great for learning
Where does The Secret Piano rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
In addition to being a great story, it is also a great way for those unfamiliar with the Chinese Cultural Revolution to learn about one of the strangest (and violent) social movements in modern history.
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- LizzyBethC
- 10-21-21
Such an inspiring, true story!
As a feminist, a pianist, and a lover of history, this story had everything. We've all learned the bare minimum about the Chinese Cultural Revolution and how professionals and academics were sent away to work camps to be re-educated. This is the true story of a young woman who is a piano prodigy, learning on the secret piano in their house. As she begins her formal education at the conservatory, the revolution makes its inroads in shocking ways and she is swept up into its ideals, then she and her family are separated and sent away. It's fascinating to see how this happens so easily and insidiously.
I don't want to give away anymore than I already have, but her journey from this is only the beginning of her trials and tribulations...and triumphs. Because of her specializing in Bach and, specifically the Goldberg Variations, I ordered the music for myself and have been working through it. Even if you're not a musician, this whole saga will keep you riveted. The narrator does an excellent job of pronouncing the Chinese authentically, yet keeping it understandable to the American ear.
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- Sing and Dance
- 02-10-18
Interesting
Childhood, start of education, re-education in the labor camps. Many lost dreams because of Mao's Cultural Revolution. But then she started again. Great and unusual story of artistic development and human self-determination.
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- Ale
- 11-28-16
Best book on Mao's cultural revolution and piano music
I love Nancy Wu's narration and it sounds so right for a Chinese themed book.
I recommend this to anyone interested in piano music/Bach's work/the cultural revolution of Mao/China. This book is perfect for me because I'm a Chinese (but not from China) and I can play the piano.
The words are not difficult and yet the story is so rich. I cried throughout.
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- JuliaS
- 10-19-24
Familiar story from my moms generation told in English
First part in China is so familiar because my parents grew up in the same era, but when written in English, it’s almost surreal like made up. Even George owell can’t make up stories so inhuman, but that’s true history. The parts after she fled China, I can sort of relate too, but I was a lot more luckier.
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- Daryl
- 06-22-14
The eternal fight for Music
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Secret Piano?
When a piano - a PIANO - was smuggled into a Chinese labor camp! It was astounding!
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes! It was a riveting listen, making a long bus trip go by much quicker than it otherwise would have. It is not an easy read, but lest we forget...
Any additional comments?
This book is definitely very musically technical, but you don't need to be familiar with all things musical to appreciate the struggle present under an oppressive government regime.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Sami
- 10-30-14
The True Meaning Of Grit
Recently I have been learning about the meaning of GRIT. I think this novel embodies that word, yet not in the aggressive and forceful nature of GRIT as we would imagine it, rather by the quite persistent perseverance of that pianist.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Alice Marks Ripperger
- 10-03-17
Beautiful, Shocking and Courageous
An intimate journey of an artist struggling to survive the late 1950's Chinese revolution. I found it to be educational and amazing. The narrator does an excellent job of sharing the horror, the despair and the elation penned by the author. The accompanying music is beautiful and haunting.
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- Ed Patterson
- 11-12-12
A very powerful story
Would you consider the audio edition of The Secret Piano to be better than the print version?
No, but then I enjoy reading. I purchased this audible version on a whim. I do have an extensive audible book library (mostly on tape :-)) but I tent to read more than listen. The idea of reading the book in the house then listening to it in the car appealed to me.
The read, listen, read feature with the Kindle is amazing. The last read pointers are spot to taking you to the page or first read paragraph of the page when listening. Amazing when you think about it. But this is not supposed to be a review of Whisper Sync
What did you like best about this story?
I am not a big biography|autobiography person. Read a few in school when I had to and maybe 3 others in the last 30 years. So if your are looking for a comparative review this is not it.
The opportunity to read an uncensored account about someones experiences in another country by someone approximately my age appealed to me.
As I recall growing up the cultural revolution in China was a good thing. At least that was the common consensus in the media at the time. This book proves otherwise.
Have you listened to any of Nancy Wu’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No, this is my first book by her. She is very articulate and easy to listen to. Definitely not the cheap pigeon English knock off other producers have used when trying to tell an Asian story.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
You simply can not read or listing to this book without tearing up. It is a painfully unbiased account of at best brutal times in China. It would serve some people well to read it before parroting the current anti-Chinese sediment made popular by recent elections.
The author has given a large gift of herself by writing this book. And I would imaging put herself at considerable risk. For that I am extremely grateful and will try to get some of my more biased friends to read and or listen to it.
You can not get a much more extreme reaction than trying to get a red neck friend to read a book about a pianist in a commie country!
Any additional comments?
This is simply a must experience book. It has a place on the required reading list for high school. Too bad reading is no longer required in high school.
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10 people found this helpful