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aileenmaria's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
makennastanley44's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
callie_loves_to_read's review against another edition
5.0
incredible characters and storytelling. I could somehow find a piece of myself in all of them and they all felt so real and fleshed out. not to mention the plot is so well developed
ifollowedthatrabbit's review against another edition
5.0
Reseña en español ~ english review at the bottom.
A través de Cassandra seguimos la historia de su abuela Nell, quien a los cuatro años viaja sola en barco desde Inglaterra hasta Australia. Una vez en el puerto, Hugh, uno de los trabajores, la encuentra sola junto a su pequeña maleta. Nell no recuerda su nombre ni mucho menos la razón de la ausencia de sus padres. Hugh la lleva a casa y junto a su mujer deciden criarla. Nell pasa una espléndida infancia junto a su nueva familia, y años más tarde fueron llegando los hermanos. Todo iba bien hasta que Hugh decide contarle la verdad sobre su pasado y ella siente que no pertenece a la que hasta ese momento creyó su familia. Entonces comienza su búsqueda por conocer sus origenes, y es su nieta Cassandra quien termina encontrándolos una vez Nell muere.
Una fascinante historia, llena de peculiares personajes y maravillosos paisajes. Kate Morton realiza una descripción tan vívida de cada lugar que logra transportarnos a ellos. Y va, a su vez, entrelazando las historias de tal manera que logra atraparnos y necesitamos saber, al igual que las protagonistas, qué pasó, qué se esconde tras tantos años de secretos.
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Through Cassandra's tale, we follow the story of her grandmother Nell, who travelled alone from England to Australia when she was only four years old. Once at the port, Hugh, one of the workers, found her alone with her small suitcase. Nell didn't remember her name and neither the reason for her parents' absence. Hugh took her home and along with his wife they decided to raise her. Nell had a splendid childhood with her new family, and years later the family started to grow. Everything was going well until Hugh decided to tell her the truth about her past. Nell felt like she didn't belong to the family anymore. Then, she began a difficult journey in search of her own story, and it's her granddaughter Cassandra who ends up finding out the truth once Nell dies.
A fascinating story, full of peculiar characters and wonderful landscapes. Kate Morton makes such a vivid description of each place that she manages to transport us there. She also finds a way to tell us the story that catches our attention and we need to know, like the protagonists, what happened, what's the real story behind all those old secrets.
A través de Cassandra seguimos la historia de su abuela Nell, quien a los cuatro años viaja sola en barco desde Inglaterra hasta Australia. Una vez en el puerto, Hugh, uno de los trabajores, la encuentra sola junto a su pequeña maleta. Nell no recuerda su nombre ni mucho menos la razón de la ausencia de sus padres. Hugh la lleva a casa y junto a su mujer deciden criarla. Nell pasa una espléndida infancia junto a su nueva familia, y años más tarde fueron llegando los hermanos. Todo iba bien hasta que Hugh decide contarle la verdad sobre su pasado y ella siente que no pertenece a la que hasta ese momento creyó su familia. Entonces comienza su búsqueda por conocer sus origenes, y es su nieta Cassandra quien termina encontrándolos una vez Nell muere.
Una fascinante historia, llena de peculiares personajes y maravillosos paisajes. Kate Morton realiza una descripción tan vívida de cada lugar que logra transportarnos a ellos. Y va, a su vez, entrelazando las historias de tal manera que logra atraparnos y necesitamos saber, al igual que las protagonistas, qué pasó, qué se esconde tras tantos años de secretos.
○•°•○•°•○•°•○•°•○•°•○•°•○•°•○•°•○•°•○•°•○•°•○
Through Cassandra's tale, we follow the story of her grandmother Nell, who travelled alone from England to Australia when she was only four years old. Once at the port, Hugh, one of the workers, found her alone with her small suitcase. Nell didn't remember her name and neither the reason for her parents' absence. Hugh took her home and along with his wife they decided to raise her. Nell had a splendid childhood with her new family, and years later the family started to grow. Everything was going well until Hugh decided to tell her the truth about her past. Nell felt like she didn't belong to the family anymore. Then, she began a difficult journey in search of her own story, and it's her granddaughter Cassandra who ends up finding out the truth once Nell dies.
A fascinating story, full of peculiar characters and wonderful landscapes. Kate Morton makes such a vivid description of each place that she manages to transport us there. She also finds a way to tell us the story that catches our attention and we need to know, like the protagonists, what happened, what's the real story behind all those old secrets.
brn's review against another edition
5.0
This was an excellent book. Reading this book was like watching a movie in my head. Predictable but not predictable. Full of emotion and tenderness. Characters were vivid and believable. There was something in every character that moves the reader. I like how she let us into every characters feelings and story. At times even overwhelming but in a good way.
mllejoyeuxnoel's review against another edition
5.0
Morton is a beautiful writer and storyteller. This is one of my two favorites of hers. A lovely and meandering tale that goes down like a warm, calming, fancy liquor.
dotreadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This story won't leave me alone. Tragic is the word that stands out in my mind to describe it. How does Eliza have such zest for life in the face of such diversity? It was hard to figure out who the main character was but actually I think there were 3 main characters. Anyway, the end was shocking but not as shocking as I expected. I thought something terrible would happen but overall, the Montrachet family was quite passive aggressive. There were a few things that went unexplained but were easy to figure out. Anyway, I really enjoyed reading this and it kept my attention. It was somewhat slow paced which is actually what I prefer. I like to savor a story and this is one I definitely did. I am looking forward to ready more from Kate Morton. I'm glad I discovered her.
jrho's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
book_concierge's review against another edition
4.0
Audiobook performed by Caroline Lee.
In 1913 a little girl, only 4-years-old, is found alone on the wharf in Australia. She’s taken in by the portmaster and his wife, who are childless, and when no one comes to claim her they keep her and raise her as their own. Decades later her granddaughter tries to unravel the mystery of her grandmother’s origins.
What a magical story. The action moves back and forth in time, from the late 1800s to 1913 to 1975 to 2005. The four women central to the story are Nell, Cassandra, Eliza and Rose. Some of the sections are told from the perspective of a child, while others from the perspective of an adult. No one has the full story and anyone who has key elements is sworn to secrecy, so it’s a long, complicated and tangled tale that Cassandra tries to unravel and reveal.
I was engaged and interested from beginning to end. This is the first book by Kate Morton that I’ve read. It won’t be the last.
I don’t think I would have used the magical realism tag, but several other people have, probably because of the fairy tales that are a central plot point, and one brief mention of a ghost. (Eliza is an author and several of her fairy tales are related in the book; they are truly magical.)
Caroline Lee does a fantastic job of voicing the audiobook. She has a lot of characters to handle (most of them female) and I was never confused about who was speaking.
In 1913 a little girl, only 4-years-old, is found alone on the wharf in Australia. She’s taken in by the portmaster and his wife, who are childless, and when no one comes to claim her they keep her and raise her as their own. Decades later her granddaughter tries to unravel the mystery of her grandmother’s origins.
What a magical story. The action moves back and forth in time, from the late 1800s to 1913 to 1975 to 2005. The four women central to the story are Nell, Cassandra, Eliza and Rose. Some of the sections are told from the perspective of a child, while others from the perspective of an adult. No one has the full story and anyone who has key elements is sworn to secrecy, so it’s a long, complicated and tangled tale that Cassandra tries to unravel and reveal.
I was engaged and interested from beginning to end. This is the first book by Kate Morton that I’ve read. It won’t be the last.
I don’t think I would have used the magical realism tag, but several other people have, probably because of the fairy tales that are a central plot point, and one brief mention of a ghost. (Eliza is an author and several of her fairy tales are related in the book; they are truly magical.)
Caroline Lee does a fantastic job of voicing the audiobook. She has a lot of characters to handle (most of them female) and I was never confused about who was speaking.