The Flight of Red Sophia

By: Roberto Scarlato

Narrated by: Raquel Beattie

There is a bar on the far side of Olde Country where patrons come to get inspired. While drowning their sorrows in The Blue Lagoon, they witness a performer pull off a feat they had not thought possible.

©2017 Roberto Scarlato (P)2017 Roberto Scarlato

A beautiful little tale

Sophia Loren Chambers is a saxophonist but not of the typical variety. The Blue Lagoon is packed tonight with people there to see her unusual and uplifting performance. Franco, the MC, and Lewis, an aspiring comedian, both know that Sophia is on her way to greatness. It’s a great set up for either something magical and little wonderful or something a little spooky to happen. I really didn’t know which way this story would go. If you’re looking for a short tale with a touch of the paranormal to it, this is a great pick.

Sophia enjoys being on stage and sharing her small gifts with others but she’s also very down to Earth. She’s not pretentious but nor is she star-struck naive. There’s definite mystery about her and her saxophone. I was caught up in this aspect of the story.

I’m not a musically talented person myself so I’m sure I missed out a little here but not much because Sophia chooses to play a piece that takes talent yet one that is familiar to most Americans. Even though I have no idea how difficult it is to perform this piece, I could still hear it in my head as the story carried on, which I really liked. That was perfect backdrop for the rest of the story.

By the end of the tale, I had no doubt that Sophia’s star was on the rise. This is a beautiful little story that ends on a high note.

I received a free copy of this book.

The Narration: Raquel Beattie was the perfect fit for this story. She sounds like a woman who is sure in her talent. Beattie also had a great male voice for Franco. Beattie captured the nuanced emotions of this short tale – the hushed expectation of the crowd, the uplifted spirits, Sophia’s own bitter sweet memories of the origins to her saxophone. Great narration all around!

A beautiful read!

Such a beautiful, intriguing and alluring tale filled with mystery and magical realism.

Looking forward to listening to more of the author's work.

Excellent narration.

The Flight of Red Sophia

An intriguing short tale of Sophia and her mesmerizing performance on her saxophone. I was caught up in the descriptions of the patrons of The Blue Lagoon and Sophia's performance... and the story was over before I knew it.

It’s Short and Sweet!!

It seems at first that Sophia could be an actress, or the ancient terminology if actress which is akin to being a prostitute. She seems to be a very popular entertainer, and by the tone of voice used in the audiobook version, there is no doubt about that. Since its a known thing in her world that people will buy tickets months in advance to see her perform.

But that guess came from the first few minutes, since it sounded like she was known for her beauty; which she was of course, but not in that way, she has a natural beauty to her. But not just that she also had a natural talent in playing one of the jazziest instruments known to mankind, the saxophone, which if I heard correctly her father gave to her as a gift. And the sound that cane out if her instrument was nothing short of baring her soul to her audience.

I have to say I love the reference from her middle name Loren, which was inspired by Sophia Loren, who was, and is still being called one if the most beautiful women ever in this world next to Elizabeth Taylor, and Raquel Walsh. My other favorite reference from this book/audiobook is the name of the tavern, The Blue Lagoon. The Blue Kagoon name holds a different meaning to me, since I used to live in Iceland djrjng my childhood days, I would go to the pool, and spa resort, the Blue Lagoon with my family!

So I would recommend this very shirt story to anyone who loves a quick listen to, and anyone who likes a simple but yet sweet story if a daughter honoring her father through her performance.

Shows depth to this writer

I received this book in exchange for a fair review. I had familiarity with this author before from reviewing his title The Bare Boxers which I found was lightly humorous and not lacking taste. This shows that he has more than humor at his disposal, as this short story was very well put together with a bit of whimsy and mystery. I really enjoyed it and thought the magical realism was well done. I enjoyed this more than his previous work, although both were good.