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La's Orchestra Saves the World
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Emily Gray
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
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Editorial reviews
Emily Gray’s narration brings vivid life to Lavender, a determinedly no-nonsense bluestocking who, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, finds refuge from a failed marriage in a bucolic English village. There she forms a local orchestra and develops a relationship with Feliks, a flute-playing Polish refugee whom she eventually comes to suspect of being a German spy. Gray’s performance carries reserves of wit and hesitant curiosity towards her new surroundings, her voice conveying a furrowed brow, a quizzical look, and a dry sense of humor, all of which make for an entertaining performance.
Gray is not always helped by her material: Although Alexander McCall Smith is a wildly successful author, with two very popular series of books translated into almost every known language; his latest is an unfocussed affair that doesn’t quite manage to do justice to the very big themes invoked. But only at a few moments does the awkwardness affect Gray’s sparkling performance, notably her handling of the male characters. The supporting cast of country folk are also drawn with a very broad brush, but, again, there is little in the book to support the narrator. Overall her performance is a real gift to the story, bringing spice and liveliness and real involvement to this slender tale.
The story focuses at the dilemma of tending to one’s own garden, Candide-style, in a period of history that demands action and resolve. The great historical forces can feel bolted on to the rest of the narrative, with the characters stumbling over the joints. Also, the author’s attitude towards the importance of music and art in times of war is unclear: Music, we are assured, can "heal the temper of the world", but the presence of a community orchestra seems an unnecessary layer and contributes very little to the story its members are barely visible. Far more convincing is the mirroring of Lavender's feeling that she has betrayed Feliks with Britain's betrayal of the Polish people in the Yalta Conference, and Gray distinctly portrays Lavender’s struggle as well as the character’s underlying moral strength, a quality that is the book’s finest attribute. Dafydd Phillips
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f you loved Jane Eyre, you will like this novel.
- By Cecilia on 02-09-12
By: Margot Livesey
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Staying On
- By: Paul Scott
- Narrated by: Paul Shelley
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Tusker and Lily Smalley stayed on in India. Given the chance to return ‘home’ when Tusker, once a Colonel in the British Army, retired, they chose instead to remain in the small hill town of Pankot, with its eccentric inhabitants and archaic rituals left over from the days of the Empire. Only the tyranny of their imposing landlady threatens to upset the quiet rhythm of their days.
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A Pleasant Meander
- By Ian C Robertson on 09-22-14
By: Paul Scott
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The Best Man to Die
- An Inspector Wexford Mystery
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Who could have suspected that the exciting stag party for the groom would be the prelude to the murder of his close friend Charlie Hatton? And Charlie's death was only the first in a string of puzzling murders involving small-time gangsters, cheating husbands, and loose women. Now Chief Inspector Wexford and his assistant join forces with the groom to track down a killer....
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Classic who-dunnit
- By Kathi on 02-24-13
By: Ruth Rendell
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A Fatal Inversion
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: William Gaminara
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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In the long, hot summer of 1976, a group of young people is camping in Wyvis Hall. Adam, Rufus, Shiva, Vivien and Zosie hardly ask why they are there or how they are to live; they scavenge, steal and sell the family heirlooms. Ten years later, the bodies of a woman and child are discovered in the Hall’s animal cemetery. Which woman? And whose child?
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Oh my!
- By Jill on 06-15-14
By: Barbara Vine
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Season of Darkness
- By: Maureen Jennings
- Narrated by: Tom Craig
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Following the disastrous retreat of the British army from Dunkirk in 1940, England is plunged into a state of fear. The threat of a German invasion is real, and many German Nationals are interned in camps across the country. One such camp is on the ancient moor land of Prees Heath, near the small town of Whitchurch in Shropshire, where Tom Tyler is the sole detective inspector. Young women from all walks of life have joined the Land Army, to help desperate farmers keep the country fed. Then one turns up dead.
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much better than average historical detective
- By connie on 09-30-12
By: Maureen Jennings
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Asylum
- By: Patrick McGrath
- Narrated by: Sir Ian McKellen
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In the summer of 1959 Stella Raphael joins her psychiatrist husband, Max, at his new posting - a maximum-security hospital for the criminally insane. Stella soon falls under the spell of Edgar Stark, a brilliant sculptor who has been confined to the hospital for murdering his wife in a psychotic rage. But Stella's knowledge of Edgar's crime is no hindrance to the volcanic attraction that ensues -a passion that will consume Stella's sanity and destroy her and the lives of those around her.
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So enjoyed this book!
- By Mebythesea on 10-07-08
By: Patrick McGrath
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The Brimstone Wedding
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Unlike the other residents of Middleton Hall, Stella is elegant, smart and in control. Only Jenny, her care assistant, knows that she harbours a painful secret, and only she can prevent Stella from carrying it to the grave. As the women talk, Jenny pieces together the answers to many questions that arise: Why has she kept possession of a house that her family don’t know about? What happened there that holds the key to a distant tragedy?
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Amazing reader elevates book to a higher level
- By Doggy Bird on 10-04-14
By: Barbara Vine
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The Muse
- A Novel
- By: Jessie Burton
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Maria Elena Infantino
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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England, 1967. Odelle Bastien is a Caribbean émigré trying to make her way in London. When she starts working at the prestigious Skelton Institute of Art, she discovers a painting rumored to be the work of Isaac Robles, a young artist of immense talent and vision whose mysterious death has confounded the art world for decades. The excitement over the painting is matched by the intrigue around the conflicting stories of its discovery.
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Mixed narration
- By Amy Fleury on 08-05-16
By: Jessie Burton
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A Share in Death
- By: Deborah Crombie
- Narrated by: Michael Deehy
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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A week's holiday in a luxurious hotel is just what Scotland Yard's Superintendent Duncan Kincaid needs. But his vacation ends dramatically with the discovery of a dead body in the whirlpool bath. Despite a suspicious lack of cooperation from the local constabulary, Kincaid's keen sense of duty won't allow him to ignore the heinous crime, impelling him to send for his enthusiastic young assistant, Sergeant Gemma James. But the stakes are raised significantly when a second murder occurs....
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series readers, start here
- By connie on 02-09-13
By: Deborah Crombie
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Enemy Brothers (Living History Library)
- By: Constance Savery
- Narrated by: Paul L. Coffey
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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British airman Dym Ingleford is convinced that the young German prisoner, Max Eckermann, is his brother Anthony, who was kidnapped years before. Raised in the Nazi ideology, Tony has by chance tumbled into British hands. Dym has brought him back, at least temporarily, to the family he neither remembers nor will acknowledge as his own.
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More people should read this wonderful story!!!
- By E.F.B. on 08-02-18
By: Constance Savery
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What listeners say about La's Orchestra Saves the World
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Linda P-C
- 07-15-11
He's done it again!
I enjoy all of Alexander McCall Smith's books and decided to try this 'one off' novel. I'm SO glad I did! AMS has the gift of taking his reader wherever he wants them to be: a dusty town in the Botswana dry season, a back garden in an upscale neighborhood of Scotland, and now a country village in 1940's Sussex. I disagree with the review that said the music portions felt "bolted on" - as I believe that in a time of extended crisis the average person will either run around screaming about the sky falling, or will take a good grasp on the things in their lives that they CAN control. It may be music, or the vegetable garden (a necessity for many during those times of rationing), or even helping a disabled farmer continue to contribute to the war effort by caring for his chickens. To see how people are affected by those stressors all you have to do is look at the changed behavior of Americans in the days, weeks and months following 9/11 - and that was just one day of terror, not years of bombs falling out of the sky on a nightly basis.
So, he's done it again - the book is heartwarming and a nearly complete picture is painted of the charming Sussex village and the lonely young woman who finds herself there during a remarkable period of history.
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- james david puckett
- 11-23-19
James
I just thought it was a great little story about the homefront in England during World War II and the narration was good also.
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Overall
- Francie
- 04-03-10
My new favorite author!
I chose this book because I am a very big fan of other books by Alexander McCall Smith. This book did not let me down. Full of heartwarming insights into what it was like to live in England during the war. Thanks to Mr. Smith for another wonderful read!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Maeve
- 11-22-21
Not McCall Smith's best
McCall Smith is a fantastic writer and I love many of his books, but unfortunately this isn't one of his best, in my opinion. Excellent reading by Emily Grey, and beautiful writing style which I always admire, but the characters and plot are just a bit... blah. I didn't feel drawn in - no strong connection to the characters, no particularly poignant observations, a pretty slow paced and shallow "slice of life" plot.
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- Kate M.
- 09-04-24
Upbeat with great characters dealing with their issues by getting on with life
I needed the fresh upbeat voice of the author, so this served me well (not nec read by the author, but penned in his voice) I stayed up way too late reading it!
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Overall
- P. Chavez
- 02-11-10
B-O-R-I-N-G
I HAD TO WRITE A REVIEW BECAUSE I CAN'T BELIEVE ANYONE WOULD GIVE THIS BOOK 5 STARS! I loved the first three No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, after that they were still enjoyable, but gradually lost their spark. I was hoping that Smith would come roaring back with this new subject "La". Did the book ever begin? Was there a story worth writing anywhere in it? Nothing ever happened. What was there to like? I didn't even like "La". She could have opened up her home to people in need. But no, she was an aristocrat who tended chickens and thought herself noble for the effort. If you want to read an excellent story set in WW2, read "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society"
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3 people found this helpful