Goodnight, Vienna

De: Marius Gabriel

Narrado por: Karen Cass

Katya never wanted to look after Gretchen. Now she’s the young girl’s only hope of survival.

1937. Katya Komarovsky is studying medicine in Glasgow, living among friends and eager to begin her career as a doctor. But when her spendthrift parents announce that they’ve run out of money and are facing ruin—and that she’ll now have to support them by working as a governess in Vienna—the life she’s dreamed of goes up in smoke.

Furiously resentful, Katya rages at her wealthy employer, Thor, for stealing her future—and saddling her with twelve-year-old Gretchen, a deeply troubled child who has only a blazing musical talent to redeem her. Yet as Katya grudgingly digs into her reserves of compassion, she finds herself losing her heart to both father and daughter.

Storm clouds are gathering, though, and when Hitler annexes Austria, patriot Thor is arrested, leaving Katya wholly responsible for saving ‘imperfect’ Gretchen from being forced into a Nazi medical research laboratory. With the terrifying uncertainty of the new world order, can Katya and Gretchen flee to safety? And dare they dream of ever seeing Thor again?

©2022 Marius Gabriel. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Fantastic story

We loved every minute. On the edge of our seats all throughout the book. Grateful to have been able to listen.

Great History

This is a great WWII history lesson that everyone should read. It was difficult getting through because of the horrible experiences I knew the characters were experiencing, but he book is well written and the fear the characters experienced was fully brought to life.

Fantastic story

Narration was very good. The emotions of the storyline really came thru. I couldn’t put it down.

Outstanding Story!

Loved the story and the reader. It was one of those books that was difficult to stop reading and listening. Highly recommend!

An Unusual Love Story

This is an unusual love story because it is about a woman and a girl. Not sexual but familial.

The main characters are Tor, Gretchen and Katya.

The story takes place in Vienna in the 1930s. Katya is the child of exiled, and poor, Russian Royalty. She is told she must go to Vienna to be a governess because her parents are on the verge of bankruptcy.

Gretchen is a child prodigy who is autistic and has dyslexia. She plays the piano by ear but lacks self-control when overwhelmed by her emotions. Combine her “deficiencies” with the Nazi race hygiene practice and you have a really great story on that alone. For me, the romance was extraneous and unnecessary.

Katya is an interesting character who doesn’t know when she should be quiet. Her mouth gets her into a lot of trouble. She never learns discretion until the very last chapter of the book. I wanted to shake her several times because of this.

Katya and Gretchen have a harrowing journey with the Nazis, but it turns out better than expected in the end.

Karen Cass does an excellent job narrating the story. Her voices for each character are distinctive and engaging.

This book uncovered information I didn’t know about Hans Asperger. That led me into a rabbit hole of research, and I found out that he, Hugo Boss, Coco Chanel, and Elsa Schiaperelli had a lot in common when it came to being Nazi collaborators.

All in all a fascinating historical drama about a very dark period in world history.

Not a Five

When the story portrayed the history it was most terrifying. The insidious corruption of a society is mirrored in our own times.

The best

The best book I have listened to in years! I highly recommend reading or listening.

Painfully Beautiful

I loved this book. It brought history to life in a way that was both beautiful but also sobering. A wonderful and inspiring story but also a lesson to learn and study historical events in an effort to keep the horrors from being repeated.

A must “read”!

This is a must read! I had a hard time putting it down! The characters came to life as Ms Cass narrated!

Great narration

The narrator was very good and the story moved fast. This is a story of love.