The Splendor of Silence
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Narrated by:
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Sneha Mathan
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By:
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Indu Sundaresan
About this listen
In 1942 Sam Hawthorne, a young U.S. Army captain, arrives in a tiny, princely state in western India. He carries combat wounds and several secrets, one of which is the real reason behind his visit: to find his brother Mike, an idealistic American soldier who disappeared after joining the local struggle for independence from the British.
But Sam's mission is soon threatened when he falls in love with Mila, daughter of the local political agent. Betrothed to the local prince, Mila draws Sam into a doomed affair that places them both in the path of dynastic intrigue, racial prejudice, and the explosive circumstances of a country torn between imperialism and nationalism.
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Yasodhara tells the story of her own Sinhala family, rich in love, with everything they could ask for. As a child in idyllic Colombo, social hierarchies, their parents’ ambitions, teenage love shape Yasodhara and her siblings’ lives, and, subtly, the differences between Tamil and Sinhala people; but the peace is shattered by the tragedies of war. Yasodhara's family escapes to Los Angeles. But Yasodhara's life has already become intertwined with a young Tamil girl's.
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Pronunciation
- By Mahidevran on 04-07-18
By: Nayomi Munaweera
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The Kite Runner
- By: Khaled Hosseini
- Narrated by: Khaled Hosseini
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Why we think it’s a great listen: Never before has an author’s narration of his fiction been so important to fully grasping the book’s impact and global implications. Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of its monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them.
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A Worhty Read
- By P. C..S. on 08-17-03
By: Khaled Hosseini
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The Glass Palace
- By: Amitav Ghosh
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in Burma during the British invasion of 1885, this masterly novel by Amitav Ghosh tells the story of Rajkumar, a poor boy lifted on the tides of political and social chaos, who goes on to create an empire in the Burmese teak forest. When soldiers force the royal family out of the Glass Palace and into exile, Rajkumar befriends Dolly, a young woman in the court of the Burmese Queen, whose love will shape his life. He cannot forget her, and years later, as a rich man, he goes in search of her.
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I struggled to finish... enough said.
- By Ty on 05-02-10
By: Amitav Ghosh
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Secrets of Nanreath Hall
- A Novel
- By: Alix Rickloff
- Narrated by: Lauren Irwin, Laura Waddell
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Cornwall, 1940. Back in England after the harrowing evacuation at Dunkirk, WWII Red Cross nurse Anna Trenowyth is shocked to learn her adoptive parents, Graham and Prue Handley, have been killed in an air raid. She desperately needs their advice, as she's been assigned to the military hospital that has set up camp inside her biological mother's childhood home - Nanreath Hall. Anna was just six years old when her mother, Lady Katherine Trenowyth, died. All she has left are vague memories that tease her with clues she can't unravel.
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Well done both narrators and Author !
- By Andover Meadow on 09-17-16
By: Alix Rickloff
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The Art of Hearing Heartbeats
- A Novel
- By: Jan-Philipp Sendker
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be - until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the listener’s belief in the power of love to move mountains.
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Basic Story Interesting, But...
- By Monica on 06-04-13
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A Spear of Summer Grass
- By: Deanna Raybourn
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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The daughter of a scandalous mother, Delilah Drummond is already notorious, even among Paris society. But her latest scandal is big enough to make even her oft-married mother blanch. Delilah is exiled to Kenya and her favorite stepfather's savanna manor house until gossip subsides. Fairlight is the crumbling, sun-bleached skeleton of a faded African dream, a world where dissolute expats are bolstered by gin and jazz records, cigarettes and safaris. As mistress of this wasted estate, Delilah falls into the decadent pleasures of society.
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Disappointed
- By Vinity on 07-13-13
By: Deanna Raybourn
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Green City in the Sun
- By: Barbara Wood
- Narrated by: Edie Tusor
- Length: 27 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1917 Dr. Grace Treverton arrives in Kenya determined to bring modern medicine to the African natives. Her brother, Sir Valentine Treverton, has his own dream for the British protectorate: to establish an agricultural empire to rival any in England. The aspirations of the wealthy Trevertons collide with those of the Mathenge tribe, an African family that has lived on the land for years. Grace soon finds a deadly rival in Mama Wachera, an African medicine woman who fights to maintain native traditions against the encroaching whites.
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Beautifully written
- By nancy wanty on 12-18-23
By: Barbara Wood
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The Unseen
- A Novel
- By: Katherine Webb
- Narrated by: Clare Wille
- Length: 15 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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A vicar with a passion for nature, the Reverend Albert Canning leads a happy existence with his naive wife, Hester, in their sleepy Berkshire village in the year 1911. But as the English summer dawns, the Cannings' lives are forever changed by two new arrivals: Cat, their new maid, a disaffected, free-spirited young woman sent down from London after entanglements with the law; and Robin Durrant, a leading expert in the occult, enticed by tales of elemental beings in the water meadows nearby.
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Great book!
- By Dana on 09-03-12
By: Katherine Webb
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The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov
- By: Vladimir Nabokov
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 31 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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From Vladimir Nabokov, the writer who shocked and delighted the world with his novels Lolita, Pale Fire, and Ada, or Ardor, comes a magnificent collection of stories. Written between the 1920s and the 1950s, these 68 tales — 14 of which have been translated into English for the first time - display all the shades of Nabokov’s imagination.
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A Kaleidoscope of Nabokov Bábochkas
- By Darwin8u on 01-11-15
By: Vladimir Nabokov
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Life Class
- By: Pat Barker
- Narrated by: Russell Boulter
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In the spring of 1914, a group of young students gather in an art studio for a life-drawing class. Paul Tarrant and Elinor Brooke are two components of a love triangle, and at the outset of the war, they turn to each other. After volunteering for the Red Cross, Paul must confront the fact that life, love, and art will never be the same for him.
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In Love and War
- By Cariola on 07-28-09
By: Pat Barker
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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
What listeners say about The Splendor of Silence
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- amritakangle
- 06-08-23
The story seemed forced
I am an Indu Sundaresan fan and have thoroughly enjoyed the Taj trilogy. In fact it is only because of those three books that I have learnt so much about the Mughal rulers, their zenana and the various facets of that period. It was with that very pleasant experience in mind that I downloaded this book. I was disappointed. The story seemed forced. The Burmese portions seemed incomplete and unnecessary as if the author was lightly touching the tips of a detail and then abandoning it without further embellishment. The jumping between two periods left me with a feeling of never being able to get my teeth into the story. And t]hough it was Rajasthan being described, the local feel, customs and descriptions were not in tandem. All in all it was not a satisfactory experience. The story did not make any sense whatsoever.
Sneha Mathan was her usual excellent self. Her narration and the different accents that she has used have carried this mediocre tale and placed it way above where it actually belongs.
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Overall
- Gail
- 12-26-09
Good Listen!
This book was not as captivating for me that her other books (the 20th Wife and A feast of roses) was, but it got better halfway through. It's the wonderful job that Sneha Mathan does narrating these books that make them so wonderful to listen too that makes the download worth it. I am looking forward to the next book written by Indu S. to come available.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Yesha
- 11-10-22
Could be better
The story jumps from one time period to another and it's confusing when listening to the audiobook. The story is also a little slow with some plot points did not make sense. Overall I give it 4 stars because of the performance.
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- sherri
- 01-12-14
The book could use more silence
In a great book, the author knows what to leave unsaid. This book would be improved by cutting half the overly detailed and sometimes overwrought description. You could practically hear the violins playing in the background when hero and heroine meet. We already know from previous heavy hints that they are to be star-crossed. Description sets scene and mood, but each detail should also serve a purpose in moving the story forward. There may be an engrossing story buried here, but I lost interest.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Daryl
- 04-10-14
Lush descriptions
What does Sneha Mathan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
her narration is wonderful. Many narrators have atrocious accents, but she is wonderful at all accents, emotions, and even narrative passages. I enjoyed this book, but her narration improved it immensely.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No. This book is best savored in bite-sized pieces.
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Overall
- Alice
- 11-16-09
Loved this audiobook
I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. I read not so great reviews somewhere else. So I was pleasantly surprised. The narrator really makes this book a great listen! I have now heard all of Indu Sundaresan's books on audible and I really enjoyed them.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Tricia
- 12-22-11
Just loved this book
Would you consider the audio edition of The Splendor of Silence to be better than the print version?
I absolutely loved this book. I must admit it was a bit slow at first, but when I finished the book I re-listened to the first 2 chapters and they were bitter sweet after hearing the whole book and knowing the ending.
The narrator is unknown until the end of the book, and is beautifully revealed. It is a really beautiful storey and worth the listen.
What did you like best about this story?
I loved the performers various accents, the rich detail of landscape and food in India
Which scene was your favorite?
I loved the only real love scene between Mia and Mike.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, after I got through the slow start
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1 person found this helpful
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- Ellenaeddy
- 06-15-14
A Nice Enough Romance ( and I HATE Romances)
This does not start like your standard romance and it doesn't end like it either. Which is to its favor. There is also a subplot ( although I'd have liked to see it developed more) that has nothing romantic about it.
However, I was terribly weary of how very much these people were attracted to each other. Endlessly.
All of this need to take into account that I normally never read romance, and I generally loath it as being sadly delusional.
The accent was charming and appropriate. And the writing was written to be read aloud which I did appreciate.
It was a very interesting look into India in the Raj days, and that was what got me through. If you like romances, I suspect you'll like it very much.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Andrew
- 12-14-13
Ok Story
Got this one on the $4.95 sale so was not completely disappointed, the novel was well researched and I did learn about some aspects of Indian culture and history during the World War II era and British Colonialism. The character development was ok but could have been better.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Sara Rüegg
- 09-05-22
Hard to get through
I listened to other books by this author and highly enjoyed them (Taj Mahal trilogy). This book started out interesting, but got so boring and predictable that it took me weeks to get through. I finished and it just never got exciting. I also found the setting weird with the letters. It's unclear who writes them which may be the point... But once you find out who wrote the letters it just feels so super weird when thinking back about what had been written. It's unrealistic that person would have known all of those facts.
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