Goodnight, Vienna

By: Marius Gabriel

Narrated by: Karen Cass

Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Such a good story. Heartache and triumph

I’ve listened to most of mr. Marcus Gabriel’s books and he never misses the mark with great historical fiction. I appreciate the fact he doesn’t need gratuitous sex or profanity to tell a good story unlike some of his peers . I loved his main characters and I was really dreading the end of story but I was fooled and this is one reason I have to to listen to his stories I’m waiting for your next novel

Bravo!

Characters and plot come through like a lightning bolt! enjoyed historical references and the passion created from it. want to read more of this author. narrator was great! bravo!

Tender

So many stories come from this brutal period of modern history. I wish we could learn the lesson of fighting despots and evil people.

History repeats

Chills as you see how today’s America is mirroring Vienna. The blind worship, the “othering” of humanity. The fear and the terror. May we all be like Shumite.

Superb story, prose and narration.

I'm not accustomed to giving 5 stars when 4 stars indicates "it's great". However, this audio book deserves 5 stars for 1) the story, and 2) the narration. A perfect match. I did not want it to end. The combination of writing and narration truly brought each character to life and never left the reader feeling ambivalent about any of them. I bought another one of Marius Gabriel's books and hope it can live up to the standard "Goodnight Vienna" set.

We all know the narration can make or break an audio book. Narrator Karen Cass gave life to this book. She made each character unique and never over played or under played the emotional constitution of a scene. I am also looking for more audio books narrated by her. I read more books than I listen to, but, in the case of "Goodnight Vienna", I can't imagine a better way to experience this particular story.

I have purposefully left out any details of the story. I believe the reader (listener) should experience it in his/her unique way. I'll only say the story is moving and told well and, as I said, the narration was as close to perfect as one could hope for.

Very Enjoyable

After reading so many historical fiction books about WWII I am pleased to say this was a good one. A little different take on the strategy of a way out of Vienna.
The narrator did an excellent job and was very engaging (even though some character voices sounded alike).
I would recommend this book. It’s not to deep and detailed and kept my interest.

Wonderful!

Wonderful book. Inspiring story of love and sacrifice making it a true story of the time and of motherhood.