Kathleen
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Mona of the Manor
- A Novel (Tales of the City, Book 10)
- By: Armistead Maupin
- Narrated by: Mara Wilson
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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When Mona Ramsey married Lord Teddy Roughton to secure his visa—allowing him to remain in San Francisco to fulfill his wildest dreams—she never imagined she would, by age 48, be the sole owner of Easley House, Teddy’s grand, romantic country manor in the UK. She also didn't imagine that she’d need to open the manor’s doors to paying guests to afford the electric bill and repair the leaking roof. Yet somehow she and her young friend Wilfred—whom guests assume is serving as Easley’s charming-but-clumsy butler—and the loopy old gardener Mr. Hargis, are making it work.
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loved Monas life in UK
- By mike on 03-06-24
- Mona of the Manor
- A Novel (Tales of the City, Book 10)
- By: Armistead Maupin
- Narrated by: Mara Wilson
Going through the motions
Reviewed: 04-24-24
The length of this book is telling. Maupin’s heart clearly wasn’t in this one. Having killed off Mona and Anna previously, he has to go back in time to tell this story. This is not his forte. He does best work when he can use Michael as his alter ego in the current moment. This story is as two-dimensional as all memories. It is the first time I’ve been disappointed with a Tales of the City novel.
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Home to Big Stone Gap
- A Novel
- By: Adriana Trigiani
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Nestled in the lush Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the town of Big Stone Gap has been home for Ave Maria Mulligan MacChesney and her beloved family and friends for generations. But with her daughter, Etta, having flown the nest to enchanting Italy, Ave Maria has reached a turning point, and she realizes that it’s time to go in search of brand-new dreams. Yet before she can put her foot on the path, her life is turned upside down.
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Different narrator changed the whole feel
- By Jennifer on 11-09-08
- Home to Big Stone Gap
- A Novel
- By: Adriana Trigiani
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
Disappointing
Reviewed: 09-08-17
It reads like the author was trying to crank out one more book for this series and she filled it with recipes to meet a minimum number of pages.
It is a shame that the author didn't record this book. She read the others so well that she was a hard act to follow. This reader has done a nice job with other books I've listened to, but she just isn't right for this book. She is more southern than mountain and lacks a bit a cynical edge for the main character.
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2 people found this helpful
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Babycakes
- Tales of the City, Book 4
- By: Armistead Maupin
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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When an ordinary househusband and his ambitious wife decide to start a family, they discover there's more to making a baby then meets the eye. Help arrives in the form of a grieving gay neighbor, a visiting monarch, and the dashing young lieutenant who defects from her yacht. Bittersweet and profoundly affecting, Babycakes was the first work of fiction to acknowledge the arrival of AIDS.
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Maupin's 4th "Tales" Book with a Male Narrator
- By Scott on 04-07-13
- Babycakes
- Tales of the City, Book 4
- By: Armistead Maupin
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming
Wonderful book
Reviewed: 01-20-16
Classic Armistead Maupin, Babycakes is a wonderful book. The storyline takes you on outrageous twists and turns but all of it is believable because of Maupin's richly developed characters. Nothing about them is forced or stretched to fit the story, they are already more than enough.
While Alan Cumming narrates very well for the most part, his low voice does not lend itself to doing female voices. Most come across as caricatures, undermining the written strength of the characters. (They can also really grate on your nerves.) Don't give up on the book because of the performance, you'll miss out on so much more! (And take comfort in the fact that he doesn't narrate any other books in the series.)
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Whitethorn Woods
- By: Maeve Binchy
- Narrated by: various
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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When a new highway threatens to bypass the town of Rossmore and cut through Whitethorn Woods, everyone has a passionate opinion about whether the town will benefit or suffer. But young Father Flynn is most concerned with the fate of St. Ann's Well, which is set at the edge of the woods and slated for destruction. People have been coming to St. Ann's for generations to share their dreams and fears, and speak their prayers.
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Not up to par for Binchy
- By Claire on 07-20-07
- Whitethorn Woods
- By: Maeve Binchy
- Narrated by: various
Fabulous book
Reviewed: 04-24-07
This is a wonerful book--rich, diverse character portraits delicately interwoven. It reads almost like a collection of short stories. I have listened to most of it several times, catching nuances I missed the first time around. The narration is also well done. Don't pass this one up!
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