Vatican Waltz
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Cassandra Campbell
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By:
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Roland Merullo
About this listen
The new novel from the award-winning author of Golfing with God and Revere Beach Boulevard is the story of a young Catholic woman jolted from a quietly devout life in Boston by a miraculous call to action.
Cynthia Piantedosi lives a quiet, unassuming life with her elderly father just outside of Boston. When she loses her beloved grandmother as a child, her faith takes a turn for the devout, and she begins experiencing what she describes as "spells" - moments of such intense prayer that she loses herself. Uninterested in boys and a social life, she develops a deep friendship with the parish priest, whose ideas are often seen as too provocative by his congregation but who encourages her to explore her spells. When he dies in a suspicious hit-and-run accident, the spells intensify, and their message begins to take shape: God is asking her to be the first female Catholic priest. She reaches out to other unreceptive officials within the Catholic establishment and is met with ridicule. Unable to tune out the divine messages, she leaves behind all that she knows, letting the power of her unswerving faith drive her all the way to the Vatican in pursuit of a destiny she doesn't fully understand - and a turn of events that will rock the church to its foundation.
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As a girl, Genevieve Martin spent the happiest summer of her life in Paris, learning the delicate art of locksmithing at her uncle's side. But since then, living back in the States, she has become more private, more subdued. She has been an observer of life rather than an active participant, holding herself back from those around her, including her soon-to-be ex-husband. Paris never really left Genevieve, and, as her marriage crumbles, she finds herself faced with an incredible opportunity.
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Not a cozy murder mystery but a cozy slice of life
- By sams on 10-23-15
By: Juliet Blackwell
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Safely Home
- By: Randy Alcorn
- Narrated by: Steve Sever
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Abridged
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Here is a soul-stirring story of two college friends who reconnect after 20 years. One is living life apart from God, in comfortable corporate America; the other is living for Christ under intense persecution in China. This challenging book will convince readers to live in the light of eternity.
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Will this be the day that I die?
- By Johnny Excitement on 01-17-08
By: Randy Alcorn
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Wedding Ring
- A Shenandoah Album Novel
- By: Emilie Richards
- Narrated by: Isabel Keating
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Needing time to contemplate her troubled marriage, Tessa MacRae agrees to spend the summer helping her mother and grandmother clean out the family home in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. But the three women have never been close.
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Loved it All Over Again
- By Kathryn @theBookDate on 03-26-16
By: Emilie Richards
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The Scent of Water
- Discovering What Remains
- By: Naomi Zacharias
- Narrated by: Naomi Zacharias
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Follow Naomi as she talks to women working in brothels in Mumbai; survivors of an Indonesian tsunami in which more than 160,000 lives were lost; a young girl waiting on an operation to save her life; and victims of domestic violence horrifically burned by fire. Be still with her when she realizes the pain she feels in the face of these extreme injustices reveals a common struggle that exists within all of humanity. And rise with her as she wrestles with confusion over her identity, comes face to face with redemption, and then begins to understand her own story.
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.
- By Justicepirate on 05-21-18
By: Naomi Zacharias
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To See the Moon Again
- By: Jamie Langston Turner
- Narrated by: Eva Kaminsky
- Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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The first step to letting go of the past is forgiving it …Every day of her life Julia Rich lives with the memory of a horrible accident she caused long ago. In the years since, she has tried to hide her guilt in the quiet routine of teaching at a small South Carolina college, avoiding close relationships with family and would-be friends. But one day a phone call from Carmen, a niece she has never met, disrupts her carefully controlled world.
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Beautiful Story of Forgiveness and Selfless Love
- By sharon on 09-20-14
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The List
- By: Robert Whitlow
- Narrated by: Rob Lamont
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Abridged
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As a struggling young attorney fresh out of law school, Renny Jacobson was pining for the day he could afford the fast cars and sprawling homes of the partners in his Charlotte firm. And with news of his father's death and an ancient, secret inheritance, Renny's life was sure to change forever. But the inheritance and membership in the clandestine society which provided it soon threatens to change him in more ways than one.
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Great book with solid Christian Message
- By JZ on 09-04-06
By: Robert Whitlow
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I'm Supposed to Protect You from All This
- A Memoir
- By: Nadja Spiegelman
- Narrated by: Nadja Spiegelman
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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For a long time, Nadja Spiegelman believed her mother was a fairy. More than her famous father, Maus creator Art Spiegelman, and even more than most mothers, hers - French-born New Yorker art director Françoise Mouly - exerted a force over reality that was both dazzling and daunting. As Nadja's body changed and "began to whisper to the adults around me in a language I did not understand", their relationship grew tense.
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Aweful
- By Haley Abreu on 07-05-17
By: Nadja Spiegelman
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The Secret Letters of the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
- By: Robin Sharma
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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After a bizarre encounter with his lost cousin, Jonathan Landry is compelled to travel across the planet to retrieve letters and mementos that carry the extraordinary secrets that Julian discovered throughout his life. On a remarkable journey that includes visits to the sensual tango halls of Buenos Aires, the haunting catacombs of Paris, the gleaming towers of Shanghai and the mystical deserts of Sedona, The Secret Letters of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari reveals astounding insights on reclaiming your personal power, being true to yourself, and fearlessly living your dreams.
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Very Enlightening
- By Jocelyne Ramos on 04-23-19
By: Robin Sharma
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Confessions of a Latter-Day Virgin
- A Memoir
- By: Nicole Hardy
- Narrated by: Nicole Hardy
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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When Nicole Hardy’s eye-opening "Modern Love" column appeared in the New York Times, the response from readers was overwhelming. Hardy’s essay, which exposed the conflict between being true to herself as a woman and remaining true to her Mormon faith, struck a chord with women coast-to-coast. Now in her funny, intimate, and thoughtful memoir, Nicole Hardy explores how she came, at the age of 35, to a crossroads regarding her faith and her identity.
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This Book Spoke to Me
- By Allison on 04-08-14
By: Nicole Hardy
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The World We Found
- By: Thrity Umrigar
- Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author and PEN and Beyond Margins Award finalist Thrity Umrigar’s acclaimed novels “resonate with rich prose and vibrant depictions of India” ( Booklist). In The World We Found, Armaiti, Laleh, Kavita, and Nishta - once friends at the University of Bombay - reconnect 30 years later when Armaiti is diagnosed with cancer. Coming together, all four women are forced to reexamine their lives.
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Good story but performance not so much!
- By Alisha on 09-13-15
By: Thrity Umrigar
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What listeners say about Vatican Waltz
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Sylvia McInerney
- 01-26-17
Weird ending
Liked the Buddha series a lot but not so sure about this story. The premise is intriguing slot of the story you need to suspend your disbelief sort of like Biblical stories
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- S. Rogers
- 11-30-16
Beautifully Narrated
Is there anything you would change about this book?
The ending. I was very disappointed. It ended so abruptly and on a note that seemed very removed from the rest of the story and almost sacrilegious, given the overall theme of the book. It felt like the author needed to wrap things up, and rather than resolve the issues the main character was facing, he blind-sided the readers/listeners with something new, and then ended the book. There was no resolution to anything, and I was personally left with my mouth hanging open is disbelief for a few moments.
What could Roland Merullo have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
Resolved a few of the key mysteries and questions surrounding the main character. What was the real purpose of her calling to the priesthood? Why all the mystery behind Father Bruno? Why a sudden close attachment to the cardinal at the very end, for no apparent reason? Why the revelation at the end that had nothing to do with the rest of the story? The fact that she had the ability to heal her patients and/or remove their pain and suffering was severely downplayed. I was sure that was going to come up again later in the book, but it never does. I feel like that's a pretty significant aspect of the characters life that shouldn't have been brushed aside.
Which character – as performed by Cassandra Campbell – was your favorite?
Cynthia, of course. Cassandra Campbell's beautiful and fluid narration is the only reason I'm not returning this audiobook to get my money back. I was disappointed in the story at the very end, but I adored listening to Cassandra reading.
Could you see Vatican Waltz being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
I can see it happening, but that doesn't mean that it should.
Any additional comments?
I really wanted to write about this book on social media. There were so many things about it that I found inspiring and thought-provoking, but the ending was just too disappointing for me to want to recommend it to others. There were also several points in the book that dragged quite a bit, but I was really interested in the story, so I kept at it. Very sad.
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1 person found this helpful
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- chip mccain
- 04-01-22
Loved this book but it ended too soon
I want more it ended too soon. What happened next? Is this linked to another book?
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- joanne blodgett
- 09-05-16
Catholic Woman in America?
The performance kept the "sappiness" at a tolerable level and the narrator's voice was sincere. The subject is definitely a hard sell and I was surprised and pleased to find I enjoyed the book...if the ending was disappointing...
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- Kindle Customer
- 08-03-16
Is Priest Her Vocation?
Quirky story about a young Italian-American woman from Revere (outside Boston) with a strong prayer life who believes that God has asked her to become a priest, despite long Catholic tradition against this. Simple plot, engagingly written and a thoughtful presentation of how she arrives at her understanding of God's wish for her ... and what happens when she tries, within the Catholic tradition, to act on it. Gets well beyond stereotypes of priests.
I'm not Catholic; I believe in a higher power but not an entity, and I really enjoyed the implicit and explicit discussion of what a spiritual life might look like. It might be considered a discussion of the difference between religion and faith.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Annie Meeks
- 01-12-17
Good not as entertaining
Not as thought out and well spoken as the Buddha trilogy. No matter still one of my favorite authors
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1 person found this helpful
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- Savana McLennon
- 11-22-22
Unique and thought provoking.
Imagining a different future for modern Christianity. Original and bold while unfolding in a velvety patient pace.
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- S.J
- 08-12-16
Stunning, fresh imagery, intimately conveyed utterly absorbing.
I felt time stood still as I listened and I inhabited the inner world of the central character. A master contemporary story-teller. The narration was authentic to the voice, powerful and perfect.
My best listen for 2016.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Chiwiz
- 09-18-16
Slow to start. Getting-going middle. Fantastic last third.
It takes this story a looooong time to get off the ground. It needs a more vertical takeoff. That being said it was an excellent story once it got going. I actually think it ended too soon - just when it got REALLY good; a twist that made me want it to not end. I think the author has a great concept going. Perhaps a sequel is in order! If so I would encourage him to move the plot along a little faster. I also really liked the spiritual philosophical and religious musings sprinkled throughout the book. Very thought-provoking and added to my enjoyment of the story. Truly, the only thing that keeps me from giving it 4.5 stars is how long the story takes to get going.
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- Anthony
- 08-30-16
Surprised ending? Maybe
As a faltering Catholic who stubbornly clings to faith but not religion I understood this book on many levels. The struggle within the church and its clergy, the struggle of its members , split in to so many fragments of acceptance, denial, confusion, and clarity of purpose.
The book touches on all of this. I wish it were non-fiction maybe but only maybe, with a different ending. But if wishes were fishes....
Still if you are a person who despite scientific and philosophical ambiguity, perhaps like myself a scientist as well who has travelled the gambit of absolute certainty in God as creator to God as divine presence not knowing how to reconcile your many doubts in it all, you will totally understand the book and like I, wish there was another that would continue to espouse and define all the aforementioned feelings. If you are just a person pursuing your faith, leaving your faith behind but thought hey, what the heck I think I'll just read this book, then my advice is to go ahead. You may not find all if any answers but you will be able to relate.
I might even do something I almost never do, and listen to if not all, parts of it again.
The performer was not bad, but the audio wasn't the best I've heard...my biggest complaint and why it's getting 4 not 5 stars.
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