The City Beautiful

De: Aden Polydoros

Narrado por: Maxwell Glick

"The City Beautiful is the haunting, queer Jewish historical thriller of my darkest dreams." (Dahlia Adler, creator of LGBTQ Reads and editor of That Way Madness Lies)

Death lurks around every corner in this unforgettable Jewish historical fantasy about a city, a boy, and the shadows of the past that bind them both together.

Chicago, 1893. For Alter Rosen, this is the land of opportunity, and he dreams of the day he’ll have enough money to bring his mother and sisters to America, freeing them from the oppression they face in his native Romania.

But when Alter’s best friend, Yakov, becomes the latest victim in a long line of murdered Jewish boys, his dream begins to slip away. While the rest of the city is busy celebrating the World’s Fair, Alter is now living a nightmare: Possessed by Yakov’s dybbuk, he is plunged into a world of corruption and deceit, and thrown back into the arms of a dangerous boy from his past. A boy who means more to Alter than anyone knows. Now, with only days to spare until the dybbuk takes over Alter’s body completely, the two boys must race to track down the killer — before the killer claims them next.

©2021 Aden Polydoros (P)2021 Recorded Books

Ugh

I love the story but if it wasn't included in my Audible subscription I would have returned it due to the narrator. I understand yiddish isn't common but please try to learn how to pronounce the words correctly or find another narrator who knows how to say them.

Another Great Listen By The Narrator

The narrator, Maxwell Glick, did an excellent job narrating this audiobook. You're amazing, Maxwell Glick!

You have to listen to this

This audiobook is awesome. It’s a perfect accompaniment to the book. I like to have both and listen while I read. For the stretches when I read without listening, I ended up going back and still listening to the parts I missed—that’s how much I like it!

Alter sounds like he is always about to plotz, and I say that with love! Lol 🙂 I loved the performance overall because each character is distinct. This is firmly in the re-listenable category for me.

As for the story—you can’t beat it. There’s imagery, there’s symbolism, you get personal growth, romance, and mystery. And it’s dark. The history is grounded so well that I found myself thinking about APUSH for the first time in too many years to mention. There is so much to love.

Mostly, this story captured my heart. I am completely enamored with it 😇 don’t pass this one up!!

Seriously?

Beautiful story. Wonderful YA novel.
Horrible narrator. Just read the book. There is no way Glick really talks like this. Just ridiculous. I know I have heard worse otherwise I doubt I could finish this.