
The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted
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Narrated by:
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Daniel Lapaine
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By:
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Robert Hillman
About this listen
Can one unlikely bookshop heal two broken souls?
"Beautifully written.... Full of insight into the nature of tragedy, love, and redemption." (Garth Stein)
"A poignant journey of unthinkable loss, love, and the healing capacity of the written word." (Ellen Keith)
It is 1968 in rural Australia and lonely Tom Hope can't make heads or tails of Hannah Babel. Newly arrived from Hungary, Hannah is unlike anyone he's ever met - she's passionate, artistic, and fiercely determined to open sleepy Hometown's first bookshop. Despite the fact that Tom has only read only one book in his life, the two soon discover an astonishing spark. Recently abandoned by an unfaithful wife - and still missing her sweet son, Peter - Tom dares to believe that he might make Hannah happy. But Hannah is a haunted woman. Twenty-four years earlier, she had been marched to the gates of Auschwitz.
Perfect for fans of The Little Paris Bookshop and The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted cherishes the power of love, literature, and forgiveness to transform our lives, and - if we dare allow them - to mend our broken hearts.
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Critic reviews
“Hillman offers an uplifting exploration of how people rise above tragedy to find joy.... An impressive, riveting tale of how two disparate and well-drawn people recover from soul-wrenching grief and allow themselves to truly love again.” (Publishers Weekly)
“The openness of the Australian countryside is an apt setting for a complex exploration of grief, faith, and restoration, and in poignant, meditative, and stirring prose Hillman tells a heartrending and heartwarming tale of love and sacrifice.” (Booklist, starred review)
“Hillman crafts a compelling tale, toggling among Tom's, Hannah's, and Peter's perspectives, as he delineates the stripping of each heart and draws together the ties that bind them together again. A heart-wrenching tale of love enduring all things in the face of evil." (Kirkus Reviews)
“A triumphant examination of history, politics, literature, and the pall and sorrow of grief.... Hillman’s vivid observations of regional details, keen perceptions of local customs, absorbing storyline, and sympathetic characters make the novel impossible to put down.” (Washington Independent Review of Books)
Bravo
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The warning above is for two reasons and if you don’t want to know specifics quit reading now.
Dogs are shot and killed. Not just one or two but large numbers. Not just in one chapter but it keeps coming up. I could nrver understand what it had to do with the story. But it was to give the flavor of sheep farming in Australia.
There are long passages describing child abuse.
Listener beware
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Marvelous!
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Wonderful!
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A heartwarming story
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Mezmerizing and Stirring
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Narrator Daniel Lapaine adds the exactly right voices to all the characters. I might have been less fraught by this story had I read it rather than listening to it.
Compelling and worth it.
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A Wonderful Stew of a Book!
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