The Sweetness of Forgetting

De: Kristin Harmel

Narrado por: Kim McKean

Duración: 14 h y 16 m

Resumen del Editor

At 36, Hope McKenna-Smith is no stranger to bad news. She lost her mother to cancer, her husband left her for a 22-year-old, and her bank account is nearly depleted. Her own dreams of becoming a lawyer long gone, she’s running a failing family bakery on Cape Cod and raising a troubled preteen.

Now, Hope’s beloved French-born grandmother Mamie, who wowed the Cape with her fabulous pastries for more than 50 years, is drifting away into a haze of Alzheimer’s. But in a rare moment of clarity, Mamie realizes that unless she tells Hope about the past, the secrets she has held on to for so many years will soon be lost forever. Tantalizingly, she reveals mysterious snippets of a tragic history in Paris. And then, arming her with a scrawled list of names, she sends Hope to France to uncover a 70-year-old mystery.

Hope’s emotional journey takes her through the bakeries of Paris and three religious traditions, all guided by Mamie’s fairy tales and the sweet tastes of home. As Hope pieces together her family’s history, she finds horrific Holocaust stories mixed with powerful testimonies of her family’s will to survive in a world gone mad. And to reunite two lovers torn apart by terror, all she’ll need is a dash of courage, and the belief that God exists everywhere, even in cake....

©2012 Kristin Harmel (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Beware - Vocal Fry and Bad French Accent!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

If the recent epidemic of vocal fry bothers you, don't listen to this narrator. I have listened to about 30 books in the past year, and I have never written a bad review, but with this one, I was so distracted by the narrator's voice, I could hardly concentrate on the story. In addition to the quality of her voice, she really only had two "voices" for all of the characters - whiny female and bad French accent. If she had stuck with the bad French accent when the American was trying to speak French badly, that would have been totally appropriate. But to mispronounce French words when a native French speaker was supposed to be speaking, is unforgivable. I think a better producer/director could have made this much more enjoyable and realistic.
In any case, if I had read the book instead of listening to it, I might have liked it better.

Breath taking

I enjoyed this story of hope, love, & forgiveness. Makes me think and appreciate of what I have and hold so dear. Makes me feel grateful and loved.

Emotional story

Your story took me on a journey of the past and hope for the future. As a reader, I felt torn for all the tragedies that occurred during the Holocaust. I loved how you weaved the recipes into this story.

Bittersweet story of lost and found love

Although I found ms harmel religious theory faulty it as about love. Love of man for woman. Love a man has for his wife for his children. I wish it could have ended differently but reality sets in. I’ll read more by this author

The sweetness of a story!!

This book warmed my heart and hurt my heart all at the same time. It’s haunting stories of the Holocaust, lost love, new love, true love and courage was beautifully written. I wish it didn’t end yet so happy with the end.

Ruined by Reader

I do not typically write negative reviews, but this book was pretty much ruined for me by the reader. I wish I had read the book instead of listening. Perhaps I would’ve appreciated the story and characters more.

Good story, difficult narration

I enjoyed this story line very much and learned some additional details about the Holocaust, especially as it relates to the different faiths who helped Jews escape. The voice of the narrator was very difficult to listen to. It was extremely slow and very nasal. I changed the speed to 1.2x and that helped. It was too good a story to stop and this change in speed made it possible to finish.

Excellent

Excellent. Enjoyed the reader very much.Hire her to read more. Powerful story. Couldn't stop listening. Well done.

Not my favorite Harmel, least favorite narrator

Harmel wrote several favorites of mine; this wasn’t one of them. It’s main character is gratingly soft, and her daughter is even worse.
The narrator has that “vocal fry” at the ends of her words. She talks so slowly, I had to increase the reading speed to 1.4x.
The story is great in the middle when it finally gets to the WWII bit.

Captivating audio edition BUT,...

Fascinating story and characters. BUT, the integration of recipes READ in the middle of story is MADDENING!