The Afghan Cinderella
The True Story of Princess Masuma and the Royal Family in 20th Century Afghanistan
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The Afghan Cinderella
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Narrated by:
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Paul Richard Yarborough
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By:
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Dr. Sherzai
About this listen
Princess Masuma lived during the time when Afghanistan was ruled by kings. In this real-life Cinderella story, as relayed by her granddaughter Dr. Sherzai, Masuma is transformed from a simple Hazara orphan into a princess when she marries the son of Prince Regent Nasrullah Khan. Her fairy tale life is filled with both tragedy and triumph as political intrigue, rivalry, assassinations, and arrests directly affect her life, fortune, and family. Through Princess Masuma's epic tale, the listener learns of the complicated and dynamic history and culture of Afghanistan, from the 19th century to the end of the Mohammadzai dynasty and the rise of the Taliban.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 804
Princess describes the life of Princess Sultana Al Sa'ud, a princess in the royal house of Saudi Arabia. Hidden behind her black veil, she is a prisoner, jailed by her father, her husband, and her country. Sultana tells of appalling oppressions, everyday occurrences that in any other culture would be seen as shocking human rights violations: 13-year-old girls forced to marry men five times their age; young women killed by drowning, stoning, or isolation in the "women's room". Princess is a testimony to a woman of indomitable spirit and courage.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good story but...
- By Jay Friedman on 07-25-14
By: Jean Sasson
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The Home That Was Our Country
- By: Alia Malek
- Narrated by: Alia Malek
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 47
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
At the Arab Spring's hopeful start, Alia Malek returned to Damascus to reclaim her grandmother's apartment, which had been lost to her family since Hafez al-Assad came to power in 1970. Its loss was central to her parents' decision to make their lives in America. In chronicling the people who lived in the Tahaan building, past and present, Alia portrays the Syrians—the Muslims, Christians, Jews, Armenians, and Kurds—who worked, loved, and suffered in close quarters, mirroring the political shifts in their country
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5 out of 5 stars
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Syria as never read before
- By rami hachwi on 09-17-18
By: Alia Malek
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I Am a Bacha Posh
- My Life as a Woman Living as a Man in Afghanistan
- By: Ukmina Manoori, Stephanie Lebrun, Peter E. Chianchiano - translator
- Narrated by: Ariana Delawari
- Length: 4 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 264
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 233
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 231
"You will be a son, my daughter." With these stunning words Ukmina learned that she was to spend her childhood as a boy. In Afghanistan there is a widespread practice of girls dressing as boys to play the role of a son. These children are called bacha posh: literally "girls dressed as boys." This practice offers families the freedom to allow their child to shop and work - and in some cases, it saves them from the disgrace of not having a male heir. But in adolescence, religion restores the natural law.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good story, awful pronunciation
- By Anonymous User on 04-19-21
By: Ukmina Manoori, and others
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The Noodle Maker of Kalimpong
- The Untold Story of My Struggle for Tibet
- By: Gyalo Thondup, Anne F. Thurston
- Narrated by: Lane Nishikawa, Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
In December 2010 residents of Kalimpong, a town on the Indian border with Tibet, turned out en masse to welcome the Dalai Lama. It was only then they realized for the first time that the neighbor they knew as the noodle maker of Kalimpong was also the Dalai Lama's older brother. The Tibetan spiritual leader had come to visit the Gaden Tharpa Choling monastery and join his brother for lunch in the family compound.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very interesting
- By BlueSky on 12-07-15
By: Gyalo Thondup, and others
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Nine Parts of Desire
- The Hidden World of Islamic Women
- By: Geraldine Brooks
- Narrated by: Geraldine Brooks
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 311
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 276
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 277
Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women is the story of Brooks’ intrepid journey toward an understanding of the women behind the veils, and of the often contradictory political, religious, and cultural forces that shape their lives. In fundamentalist Iran, Brooks finagles an invitation to tea with the ayatollah’s widow—and discovers that Mrs. Khomeini dyes her hair.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Auto-ethnography and good research
- By Verna on 09-26-13
By: Geraldine Brooks
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The Romanovs
- 1613-1918
- By: Simon Sebag Montefiore
- Narrated by: Simon Beale
- Length: 28 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,315
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,182
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,177
This is the intimate story of 20 tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Simon Sebag Montefiore's gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence, and wild extravagance, with a global cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries, and poets, from Ivan the Terrible to Tolstoy and Pushkin.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Scholarly but gripping
- By William on 06-16-16
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Lives of Extraordinary Women
- Rulers, Rebels (and What the Neighbors Thought)
- By: Kathleen Krull
- Narrated by: Melissa Hughes
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 53
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 46
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
Lives of Extraordinary Women turns the spotlight on the women who have wielded power, revealing their feats - and flaws - for all the world to see. You'll hear about 20 of the most influential women in history: queens, warriors, prime ministers, first ladies, revolutionary leaders. Some are revered. Others are notorious. And what were they really like?
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1 out of 5 stars
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Very disappointing
- By Leerkkee on 01-14-05
By: Kathleen Krull
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French Revolution
- A Captivating Guide to the French Revolution, the Life of Marie Antoinette and the Impact Made by Napoleon Bonaparte
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Colin Fluxman, Duke Holm
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 52
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 52
Listen to this audiobook now if you want to learn more about the French Revolution! Includes two audiobooks in one.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A worthy read!
- By ThomasP on 05-16-20
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Peter the Great
- His Life and World
- By: Robert K. Massie
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 43 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,205
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,020
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,009
This superbly told story brings to life one of the most remarkable rulers––and men––in all of history and conveys the drama of his life and world. The Russia of Peter's birth was very different from the Russia his energy, genius, and ruthlessness shaped. Crowned co-Tsar as a child of ten, after witnessing bloody uprisings in the streets of Moscow, he would grow up propelled by an unquenchable curiosity, everywhere looking, asking, tinkering, and learning, fired by Western ideas.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Narrater ruins everything
- By BrendaLouQuilts on 12-30-11
By: Robert K. Massie
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Things I've Been Silent About
- By: Azar Nafisi
- Narrated by: Naila Azad
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 84
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 47
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Story4 out of 5 stars 49
Azar Nafisi, author of the beloved international best seller Reading Lolita in Tehran, now gives us a stunning personal story of growing up in Iran, memories of her life lived in thrall to a powerful and complex mother, against the background of a country's political revolution.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Family portrait in the frame of history
- By Galina COS on 07-02-16
By: Azar Nafisi
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Marie Therese, Child of Terror
- The Fate of Marie Antoinette's Daughter
- By: Susan Nagel
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 221
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 182
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 181
Nagel tells a remarkable story of an astonishing woman, from her birth, to her upbringing by doting parents, through to Revolution, imprisonment, exile, Restoration, and, finally, her reincarnation as saint and matriarch.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Essential reading for students of Bourbon history
- By Adeliese Baumann on 03-07-13
By: Susan Nagel
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Inside the Kingdom
- My Life In Saudi Arabia
- By: Carmen bin Ladin
- Narrated by: Shohreh Aghdashloo
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 317
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 163
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 167
On September 11, 2001, Carmen bin Ladin heard the news that the Twin Towers had been struck. She instinctively knew that her brother-in-law was involved in these horrifying acts of terrorism, and her heart went out to America. She also knew that her life and the lives of her daughters would never be the same again.
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4 out of 5 stars
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An inside view of the Saudi women's life
- By Richard on 08-04-04
By: Carmen bin Ladin
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Empress Dowager Cixi
- The Concubine Who Launched Modern China
- By: Jung Chang
- Narrated by: Jolene Kim
- Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 431
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 370
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 368
At the age of 16, in a nationwide selection for royal consorts, Cixi was chosen as one of the emperor's numerous concubines. When he died in 1861, their five-year-old son succeeded to the throne. Cixi at once launched a palace coup against the regents appointed by her husband and made herself the real ruler of China - behind the throne, literally, with a silk screen separating her from her officials who were all male.
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2 out of 5 stars
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An insult to audiobooks. Get a print version.
- By Reademandweep on 02-23-15
By: Jung Chang
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Aavarana
- The Veil
- By: Sandeep Balakrishna - translator, S. L. Bhyrappa
- Narrated by: Deepti Gupta
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 39
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
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Story5 out of 5 stars 34
Aavarana: The Veil by S. L. Bhyrappa is a story of a free-spirited and rebellious young woman, Lakshmi, who marries the man she is deeply in love with. Amir, her husband, requests she convert to Islam, and she reluctantly agrees. Despite her father being completely against the marriage, she breaks ties with him and changes her name to Razia. However, things change for the worse, and she discovers a different side to Amir. He is not the progressive and liberal person she thought he was.
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5 out of 5 stars
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History and research
- By Manan Shukla MD on 11-16-24
By: Sandeep Balakrishna - translator, and others
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Victoria: The Queen
- An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire
- By: Julia Baird
- Narrated by: Lucy Rayner
- Length: 21 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 59
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
When Victoria was born, in 1819, the world was a very different place. Revolution would threaten many of Europe’s monarchies in the coming decades. In Britain, a generation of royals had indulged their whims at the public’s expense, and republican sentiment was growing. The Industrial Revolution was transforming the landscape, and the British Empire was commanding ever larger tracts of the globe. In a world where women were often powerless, during a century roiling with change, Victoria went on to rule the most powerful country on earth with a decisive hand.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Masterpiece!!
- By DKSTRYKER on 01-07-24
By: Julia Baird
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Wild Swans
- Three Daughters of China
- By: Jung Chang
- Narrated by: Joy Osmanski
- Length: 22 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,967
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,732
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,736
Few books have had such an impact as Wild Swans: a popular best seller which has sold more than 13 million copies and a critically acclaimed history of China; a tragic tale of nightmarish cruelty and an uplifting story of bravery and survival.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Accurate, moving and chilling
- By David on 12-15-12
By: Jung Chang
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The Last Manchu
- The Autobiography of Henry Pu Yi, Last Emperor of China
- By: Paul Kramer, Henry Pu Yi
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 108
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 91
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 92
In 1908, at the age of two, Henry Pu Yi ascended to become the last emperor of the centuries-old Manchu dynasty. After revolutionaries forced Pu Yi to abdicate in 1911, the young emperor lived for 13 years in Peking’s Forbidden City, but with none of the power his birth afforded him. The remainder of Pu Yi’s life was lived out in a topsy-turvy fashion: fleeing from a Chinese warlord, becoming head of a Japanese puppet state, being confined to a Russian prison in Siberia, and enduring taxing labor.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Marvelous and Ultimately Sad Memoir
- By Sparkly on 08-08-13
By: Paul Kramer, and others
What listeners say about The Afghan Cinderella
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- AudioBookReviewer
- 01-13-22
Epic and Interesting
This is a story about Princess Masuma and her rise from a being a Hazara orphan into a princess. This is an epic story that covers the state of politics, assassinations, wealth, intrigue and more that threaten the royal family and Princess Masuma.
The author Dr. Sherzai is the granddaughter of Princess Masuma, and her depth of research is staggering. Not only do we have the story of Princess Masuma but the historical events during this time. This is not simply a “Cinderella” story but one with historical, religious, and cultural aspects of this era that reveals much about the lesser-known history of Afghanistan.
The creative weaving of the true story within the historical and cultural context is well done.
The narrator, Paul Richard Yarborough, as a voice actor is gifted in his performance. The words roll off his tongue with ease. He speaks clearly and with a steady cadence. There are subtle voice changes for the characters in their dialog but other than that his voice is steady and has some tonal inflections that keep the book flowing smoothly.
This is a creative fiction book based on the true events of Princess Masuma, it is interesting and enjoyable for those who appreciate historically driven stories.
The production and quality of this audiobook were perfect. I encountered no issues; it was clear and crisp with no background noises.
Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.
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