Nocturne

By: Diane Armstrong

Narrated by: Deidre Rubenstein

It is Warsaw, 1939, and Elzunia is an indulged teenager who longs for a heroic life filled with romance. But the outbreak of war shatters all her dreams. As bombs fall, she meets Adam, a taciturn airman whose fate becomes entwined with hers. In despair over the occupation, Adam joins the Polish resistance, then flies bombers for the RAF.

Forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, Elzunia learns that even children must create their own rules to survive. When the Ghetto defies the invaders, and later the entire city of Warsaw rises up, Elzunia finds strength in ways she never imagined. Nocturne is a powerful and inspiring testament to resilience and courage in the face of cruelty and betrayal.

©2008 Diane Armstrong (P)2009 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"A gallant and gut-wrenching story." (Australian Book Review)

"An inspirational account of how ordinary people are forced to find strength and courage within themselves when the world around them falls apart." (Vibewire)

Overly dramatic narrator

The story of this book was very interesting… Sometimes it was hard to listen to because of the yelling and screaming by the narrator

true and improbable fiction

Where does Nocturne rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's definitely in the top 3 of my audiobooks (maybe even number one).

What was one of the most memorable moments of Nocturne ?

There are many memorable moments. Maybe the most memorable will be the story of the old clock.

What about Deidre Rubenstein’s performance did you like?

Almost perfect. Even the difficult Polish names are pronounced correctly (almost all of them). Just beautiful.

Any additional comments?

Don't be deceived by 'editorial review' - this is not ' is the poignant war-torn romance'. This story i much more. And even the romance is not the main plot (but still one of the important treads of the novel).

I was hesitate if the story should get 5 or 4 stars - some twists seems quite improbable. Then I recalled that the real live can create even more bizarre coincidences.

Regardless that it is fiction it is not purely imagination of the author. It is created based on really good research of the reality of WWII and all the stories could really happened (many of them were created based on the real, historical events/records).

Haunting, gritty, romantic...

This book had passages of gritty realism and unbelievable coincidences. The descriptions of the Warsaw ghetto, the freedom fighters, the blood in the streets made me cringe with their realism. The passages of romance were more soap opera than my taste, but also captured realistically the maturing of a young girl, so I can't fault that.

Coincidences abound, but provide hope in the midst of a novel detailing one of the most painful periods and locales the world has known in the last century.

The narrator had a good voice and projected feeling - sometimes overly so - into her depictions of shock and panic.

This book is worth the read, due to its insider view of Warsaw during the war, as well as the pain of Poles abroad who felt neglected by the allies. The romance is, for the most part, juvenile, but may just be because one of the main characters is a teenager during this book.

Cautious recommendation.

Blech

I can't decide if I like the book or not because the narrator is horrible. The first part of the book is riddled with overwrought, irritating exclamations - where was the director? I have gritted my teeth and suffered through Part 1 as I've already trashed two books recently that the narrator ruined for me. In future, I will make a practice of listening to a sample before I buy - good narration is paramount for a successful listening experience.

The narrator ruined it for me

I read Armstrong's superb novel "Winter Journey. That book made me want to read more by this author. Unfortunately Nocturn did not work for me on two levels… The first is the coincidental reading of "The Book of Aron," a novel based on the true story of a heroic priest and life in the Warsaw ghetto.

The two books are so similar in terms of subject manner. And Armstrong's book suffers and comparison, primarily due to the narrator.

Deirdre Rubenstein is a extremely good narrator when she's not making up voices. I know that she was trying to interpret her characters, but every time she did this it just annoyed me tremendously. I found the characterizations alternately shrill, growly, and just so annoying In the way they pulled me out of the story, not deeper into it.

I like this author so much, and actually like Rubenstein's narrative work when she plays it straight. She has a lovely voice, and excellent cadence. She could have read this straight and I would've loved it.

As it is I couldn't finish the book.b