Indygal

Vivid, realistic, moving

Reviewed: 08-22-24

As usual, Hannah shines as storyteller. She perfectly captures both the beauty and ugliness of the human experience.

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Well-written but pulpy story

Reviewed: 07-16-24

Sometimes great authors write garbage, but write it beautifully. The facts in this romance-meets-murder mystery are a bit mangled and the character development is thin on some of the principal characters. When the police concluded their homicide investigation within 24 hours... um, that doesn't happen in real life. The unexpected but earth-shattering romance that involves Shooter is seemingly based on the sole fact that he's handsome. Is Shooter a darling or a back-stabbing scoundrel? Can a stutter show up for the first time in adulthood, then disappear, then reappear? Can a brilliant and accomplished scientist (Celeste) be sooo dumb? And so many other head-scratching developments. After all the high drama and suspense, the ending is muddled and underwhelming.

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Absolutely fabulous

Reviewed: 02-01-24

A brilliant pairing: Patchett's elegant writing and extraordinary storytelling, and read by the great Meryl Streep.
Doesn't every middle aged person have tender and nostalgic memories of that one summer... that one romance that still turns up in their dreams?

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I love Fannie Flagg!

Reviewed: 02-01-24

Fannie Flagg's books always remind me of the power of kindness and miracles. This is a quick, easy read. Perfect for the holidays.

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Probably better in print

Reviewed: 01-28-24

With a fairly large cast of characters with Israeli names I was unfamiliar with… it was easy to get lost in the narrated story. I think this one should be read in hard copy.
Hard to get into initially, but once the dark comedy blunders of the highly-intellectual-but-moronic characters got rolling, it was an interesting read. Very unique.

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Grisham rules!

Reviewed: 12-14-22

Excellent story of a sociopath, a sleuth, and a public servant. Creepy but delicious storytelling.

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No. Just no.

Reviewed: 06-15-22

So many holes in this plot, a reader would have to be incredibly gullible to buy-in… Four women with zero experience in law enforcement or the legal profession take on the mob and take the bad guys down in a number of days. More disturbingly, the characters are built on stereotypes of women, Italians, lesbians… pretty much everyone. Skip this one.

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Fabulous book, brilliant performance

Reviewed: 04-08-22

A fun, inspiring story. But what made it magnificent was Blair Brown’s performance. She did not read the story so much as “acted” every character in full blown glory. So glad I got the audible version.

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Moving, beautifully told, meticulously researched

Reviewed: 01-06-18

Where does The Warmth of Other Suns rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I loved this book. Although I've enjoyed many books on audiobook, this is one of the most meaningful. It isn't often a book can change the way one views history, but this one certainly has that impact.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I related most to Dr. Foster's story: his ambition, his journey, his ego, successes and flaws. His story drew me in the most. But (especially toward the end), it was Ida Mae I loved the most. Unlike Robert, she was focused on interpersonal relationships rather than appearances or material wealth. They were each successful, but in very different ways. His success was measured in wealth, reputation, and "things;" Ida Mae's success was that her humility, strength of character and kindness made her a beloved icon among those who knew her.

Have you listened to any of Robin Miles and Ken Burns (introduction) ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Robin Miles is remarkable, the perfect person to present the audio edition of this book. She reads beautifully, equally adept at voicing the author's scholarly first-person history lessons and the dialects of numerous characters across the spectrum. I can't overstate this: Miles was perfect.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. It is a lot to absorb, and some of it is jarring or profoundly painful. Especially in the first quarter of the book, I had to leave it occasionally.

Any additional comments?

The three people whose stories are detailed will stay with me for a long time. They were part of the Great Migration during the early to mid-20th century, who moved from the south to escape overt discrimination in the time of Jim Crow and lynchings. In each case, they found challenges in their new homes (New York, Chicago and Los Angeles) but ultimately made better lives than would have been possible had they remained in the south. What makes this book really special is the way the stories are told: each chapter a slice of the life story of Robert, Ida Mae or George, interspersed with the author Isabel Wilkerson's brilliant narrative providing historical and sociological context. Parts of it are quite academic. Other parts read like memoir. So there are really four points of view: each of the primary characters, plus the author's brilliant commentary.
I am torn as to whether this book should be read with the eyes or listened to on audio. With the various characters, times and places, the visuals would be important. Each chapter is introduced with this info, e.g., Ida Mae Gladney, Chicago, 1968. I found myself having to "rewind" frequently to orient myself to the sudden change in time/place. However, the performance of reader Robin Miles is so extraordinary, I would hate to have missed it by just reading the written version.

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Might be a good book but doesn't work as audio book

Reviewed: 09-30-17

Little snippets of info, meant to be a short lesson per week. Ridiculous to put this in audio format.

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1 person found this helpful