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Hello Beautiful
- Narrated by: Maura Tierney
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
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Hello Beautiful
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward comes a beautifully tender, heartbreaking, and moving story of four sisters over three decades.
Meet the Padvano girls. Best friends and sisters, they are thought of as inseparable by everyone in their close-knit Chicago neighbourhood. Julia, the eldest, is the "rocket" of the family - she always has a destination in mind and clear plans for how to get there. Sylvie, the dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book and imagines a life for herself other than the expected path of wife and mother. Cecelia and Emmeline, the twins, are the artist and the caregiver. From childhood, the four sisters complete each other, expecting that their family will always be intact.
When Julia falls in love with William Walters, a history student and college sports star, she's delighted by the way her plans for adulthood are coming together. A husband, a house, a family. But when darkness from William's past begins to block the light of his future, it is Sylvie, not Julia, who steps in to help. Suddenly, things shift. Dynamics and relationships, priorities and secrets - everything that was once a given no longer is.
Rich and vivid, heartbreaking and heart-mending, Hello Beautiful captures the joy, tragedy, trust, and betrayal to ask: what does it mean to be a family? And once shattered, can it be pieced back together?
Critic reviews
"A rich, complex family saga, Hello Beautiful is a portrait of love and grief in equal measure. Napolitano's prose is so lovely, so keenly perceptive, that it held me captive until I finished. A lot of people are going to love this story." (Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes)
"Like great jazz, Hello Beautiful takes a melody and transforms it. This is a richly-woven story about family, but it's also a unique take on Little Women. There are no heroes or villains here, only people--flawed and loving and striving like the rest of us. Generosity is the word that comes to mind when I reflect on this gorgeous novel." (Allegra Goodman, New York Times bestselling author of The Cookbook Collector and Sam)
"Ann Napolitano's writing is astonishing." (Marian Keyes, Sunday Times bestselling author of Again, Rachel)
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What listeners say about Hello Beautiful
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 27-04-23
Lovely story with hope
Wonderful story about imperfect humans leading to hope for us all. So enjoyable to hear.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Sarah H
- 26-09-23
A family take that draws you in
A great listen with interesting characters and an engaging, often moving story as you find yourself drawn into the highs and lows of the three main characters’ lives.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Patrick Benson
- 11-02-24
Beautiful writing and narration.
I loved the writing and wanted more! The story was capturing and the flow was brilliant
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 18-08-23
A Wonderful character rich book
I loved this book with its superb and very real ordinary characters with the complexities of human personalities. The interplay of family and friends dynamics was so perceptive. The narration was so easy to listen to. I felt the characters were really brought to life.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 07-06-23
Good Read
Loved it! Narrator great! story line moving. It is a must buy and read!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- gg
- 13-06-23
Gorgeous
Loved this kind of old fashioned family drama , warm and perceptive, i especially liked that for once the male characters were as likeable and complex as the female characters which is almost never the case in current fiction
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Matthem
- 22-04-24
Gentle family saga
Very listenable, a little addictive, soothing and not too heavy (the characters might have got a lot angrier with each other!).
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Liz
- 11-05-23
Heartbreaking and uplifting
This is a slow burn at the very start but quickly warms up and absorbs you. Makes me miss my sisters especially.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Foxylox
- 31-03-23
I wish I’d had sisters
I listened to this book simply because Maura Tierney was the narrator and was not disappointed. Her voice suited the story and did not get in the way of a tender story beautifully told.
The continual chapter reminders that it was set in the 80s were always surprising as the feeling it gave was more like the 50s, in the innocence of a time longer ago.
Flawed characters that were still sympathetic drew me in and I now miss them as I enjoyed spending time in their company. Even though the book included hard topics and difficult life choices the resulting story was positive and hopeful.
I’m going straight to look for more books by this author.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Zebra Karma
- 30-04-23
Exquisite
A beautiful, emotionally satisfying read with a pleasing nod to Little Women. I will miss all theses characters, flawed and fully realised.
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