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Tears of Amber
- Narrated by: Will Damron, Angela Dawe
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
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Tears of Amber
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Summary
One of Audible's Best of 2021
From the bestselling author of The Murmur of Bees comes a transportive novel of two families uprooted by war and united by the bonds of love and courage.
With war looming dangerously close, Ilse’s school days soon turn to lessons of survival. In the harshness of winter, her family must join the largest exodus in human history to survive. As battle lines are drawn and East Prussia’s borders vanish beneath them, they leave their farm and all they know behind for an uncertain future.
But Ilse also has Janusz, her family’s young Polish laborer, by her side. As they flee from the Soviet army, his enchanting folktales keep her mind off the cold, the hunger, and the horrors unfolding around them. He tells her of a besieged kingdom in the Baltic Sea from which spill the amber tears of a heartbroken queen.
Neither of them realizes his stories will prove crucial and prophetic.
Not far away, trying and failing to flee from a vengeful army, Arno and his mother hide in the ruins of a Königsberg mansion, hoping that once the war ends they can reunite their dispersed family. But their stay in the walled city proves untenable when they find themselves dodging bombs and scavenging in the rubble. Soon they’ll become pawns caught between two powerful enemies, on a journey with an unknown destination.
Hope carries these children caught in the crosshairs of war on an extraordinary pilgrimage in which the gift of an amber teardrop is at once a valuable form of currency and a symbol of resilience, one that draws them together against insurmountable odds.
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What listeners say about Tears of Amber
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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Story5 out of 5 stars
- H R Macey
- 14-04-22
Painful, beautiful & relevant for all time
We humans just can’t help ourselves, we make the same mistakes over & over. This book is a work of art.
God please help us all 🙏💙💛
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 19-04-23
Stories that break your heart...
Amazing story that makes you say 'never again'. We shouldn't allow war break so many lives... Stories that transcend borders, ethnicities. Stories that can happen in any corner of the world, but that should not repeat...
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- sheila n.
- 25-10-22
life affirming
beautiful and heartbreaking in equal measures, it will stay with you long after the book has finished an extraordinary achievement.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Zenith
- 14-04-23
Beautifully written.
This is a historical fiction novel set in WW2. It focuses on the lives, experiences, suffering and survival of two German families from Prussia. It's a perspective that isn't often found among WW2 novels. But it is still a story of suffering, hardship and survival.
The story is beautifully written (and translated- I haven't heard the original Spanish).
When I chose to listen to this I was expecting some magical realism, as I associate the author with this genre, and because of what I've heard about the murmur of bees.
But the vein of folklore and magical realism that I thought would be woven in, didn't really appear apart from a mention of Prussian stories in passing.
I would have liked to have heard one of these stories.
This was an emotional book- one I wasn't really expecting and not one I was emotionally prepared to listen to- but I am glad I did.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Christineb
- 06-05-21
Stunning
This was an amazing novel Narrated beautifully Totally authentic and original The simplicity of childhood memories reminded me of the great classic by Pearl Buck The writing was superb Quite frankly it's worthy of 10 stars
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- H A Reeve
- 26-11-21
Absolutely breathtaking
I came here for my favourite narrator and I'm leaving with a new favourite author and male narrator.
Congratulations to the entire team on putting together such a special book. The performances were excellent, and the translation beautiful. The story is stunningly good, thoroughly researched and sensitively written. The author's note at the end elevated the story for me even more. I was gripped throughout, looking forward to the each chance to listen. I can't recommend it enough.
I had to go away and learn more about Prussia after finishing the book. I quickly realized what a limited view I had of the war, having learnt about WWII in a British classroom a good few years ago. Thank you, Sofia for the inspiration to research more. Thank you for telling the stories of Arno and Ilse.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Rooty tooty
- 23-07-21
Extraordinary book
I wish every leader could read this in growing up so they comprehend that all actions have consequences but that also every human has a story to tell and the effects on ordinary mortals are extraordinary.
Amazing book that I will listen too time and time again.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- K. L. Way & M Way
- 06-02-23
Enthralling.
This is a powerful book honouring the human spirit in resilience in hope in war. I loved it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Chris N.
- 16-04-23
Heartbreaking hopeful masterpiece.
"Masterpiece" should be reserved for books like this. Amazingly .....narrators are up to the task!!
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