The Marriage of Opposites

By: Alice Hoffman

Narrated by: Gloria Reuben, Tina Benko, Santino Fontana, Alice Hoffman- afterword

From the New York Times best-selling author of The Dovekeepers and The Museum of Extraordinary Things: a forbidden love story set on the tropical island of St. Thomas about the extraordinary woman who gave birth to painter Camille Pissarro - the father of impressionism.

Growing up on idyllic St. Thomas in the early 1800s, Rachel dreams of life in faraway Paris. Rachel's mother, a pillar of their small refugee community of Jews who escaped the Inquisition, has never forgiven her daughter for being a difficult girl who refuses to live by the rules. Growing up, Rachel's salvation is their maid Adelle's belief in her strengths and her deep, lifelong friendship with Jestine, Adelle's daughter. But Rachel's life is not her own. She is married off to a widower with three children to save her father's business. When her husband dies suddenly and his handsome, much younger nephew, Frédérick, arrives from France to settle the estate, Rachel seizes her own life story, beginning a defiant, passionate love affair that sparks a scandal that affects all of her family, including her favorite son, who will become one of the greatest artists of France.

Building on the triumphs of The Dovekeepers and The Museum of Extraordinary Things, set in a world of almost unimaginable beauty, The Marriage of Opposites showcases the beloved, best-selling Alice Hoffman at the height of her considerable powers. Once forgotten to history, the marriage of Rachel and Frédérick is a story that is as unforgettable as it is remarkable.

©2015 Property Of, Inc. (P)2015 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"While each narrator's voice is distinctive, they share a common intensity, a complete immersion in the lyrical language that is a Hoffman specialty.... Even with such scope, this audiobook manages to capture the imagination and transport listeners to another time." (AudioFile)

Historical fiction very interesting

Would you listen to The Marriage of Opposites again? Why?

I did listen to parts of it over again. I love the parts about how they both fell in love and went against their traditional family ways. The mother was upset with the son without regard or empathy even though she had a similar experience. I loved the telling of the first marriage, how things worked backed then regarding marriage. I liked how she took her responsibility seriously and was good to the children. I loved how she had so many children. And I loved reading about Pissaro's childhood, his travels, his routines. Lovely book. Lovely prose.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Marriage of Opposites?

Strong mother. Hard workers. Strong sense of self in the middle of a strong culture and traditional society and community. The independence and self responsible main character. The passion of them all.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The voice of the mother, the passion in her voice. She sounded beautiful. The son's self doubt, his dedication to his convictions, his fortitude to walk away from a good life for a passion. The relationship of the mother to her women friends.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Many. i forget now.

Any additional comments?

A favorite book, will read or listen to the author's other books. Love Hoffman/great writer

Hauntingly lovely

Hoffman's The Marriage of Opposites is a delicious literary pastiche. Part historical fiction, biography, and fairy tale, the novel has magic ( a la Hoffman) twined around its very heart. The characters inhabiting the story are complex and layered; my feelings about Rachel, the novel's center, remain conflicted even now. I have no problem with Pissarro not occupying the entirety of the story, as our journey as readers winds along the path that made him who he was, even before he was born. St. Thomas is as much a character here as Adele or Isaac, and the magic and mystery so embodied in that island is well represented.
The narrator's voice drew me into the novel after two minutes. In truth, I'm not sure of the purpose of the other different speakers, as they were not totally consistent. I will listen to this again, however, as the story was so interesting and poetically unpacked. It will remain in my literary Loves Rolodex.

Wow, what a story!

This was a wonderfully written and narrated book. I loved the story that spanned generations. A must read or listen for any book worm.

Interesting Read/Listen

Very detailed. Seemed rather long in places. Spans decades in great detail. Focuses on the matriarchs which is interesting.

Delightfully imagined

Alice Hoffman takes the facts of the lives of a remarkable artist and his family and weaves a poignant international tale. Women’s performances are generally good, although a narrator who speaks French as well as English would have been a good choice. The male reader didn’t work well for me. I began listening to this book knowing nothing about its subject. I wish I could read every book that way.

Lovely

Like Hoffman's Dovekeepers, this is a slowly building story about a strong and unconventional Jewish woman. It was not until I was halfway through the book that I realized it was also about the artist Pissarro. Hoffman uses language beautifully and while I listened I felt I could see the island, the paintings, the flowers. A lovely listen.

Uneven book

This book starts off well and I was initially excited to be reading it.
However after a while it starts to lose it's focus. It becomes a rambling mess of a story. At that point I couldn't wait for it to be over

Excellent Historical Story

If you could sum up The Marriage of Opposites in three words, what would they be?

Historical, complicated, family

Who was your favorite character and why?

Madame Pisarro

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

If you could rename The Marriage of Opposites, what would you call it?

The Painter's History

Any additional comments?

Loved listening to this family saga with all its complications.

Started Out Good/Got Boring

I started out fascinated by the descriptive writing style and the setting -- the island of St. Thomas in the early 19th century. Hoffman has a gift for putting color into her story and making you see and experience the same things as her characters. The Jewish community in St. Thomas is also an interesting subject -- one I knew nothing about. Her heroine was the typical feminine rebel, not very surprising, but expected. At times, she's not courageous enough when it comes to protecting those she loves and this is a character flaw, but not an endearing one.

What happened was that the story just got too long and too typical. The romance starts midway through the story and it's just too precious and tedious for my taste. It just drags on and nothing appears to happen except that they keep living in the same place, feebly rebelling against custom, popping out a couple more kids. And, to be honest, that is where I lost interest and left the story, as it didn't seem to be going anywhere.

I was also irritated by the narrative style of some of the readers. One in particular sounded like she was reading a children's fairy tale, using a sing song lilt and placing emphasis on certain words and syllables in an exaggerated, silly way. I expected to be shown the pictures at any given time -- that's how patronizing her style was. The original reader, with a deeper, huskier tone was good, however.

Glorious

I fell in love with this author’s writing. This is my 2 nd book of hers and I feel that I shall read eveyone of her books and mourn when I am done… never to find such solace as l do with her profound and quality of imagination and expression. Her character and story development and the vibrancy of life she creates is unequalled .