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  • The Light Years

  • Cazalet Chronicle, Volume 1
  • By: Elizabeth Jane Howard
  • Narrated by: Jill Balcon
  • Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (772 ratings)

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The Light Years cover art

The Light Years

By: Elizabeth Jane Howard
Narrated by: Jill Balcon
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Summary

The tangled lives of three generations evoke a vanished world in this, the first volume of the Cazalet Chronicle.

Home Place, Sussex, 1937. The English family at home.... For two unforgettable summers, they gathered together, safe from the advancing storm clouds of war. In the heart of the Sussex countryside, these were still sunlit days of childish games, lavish family meals, and picnics on the beach.

Three generations of the Cazalet family played out their lives - with their relatives, their children and their servants - and the fascinating triangle of their affairs....

©1990 Elizabeth Jane Howard (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

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What listeners say about The Light Years

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    487
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
    64
  • 2 Stars
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Performance
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Story
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Definitely worth listening the unabridged version.

I read these books in my early teens and decided to listen to them again as fragments of them remained in my memory. Howard should get far more literary praise than she currently receives. They are beautifully written books.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent narration and great family drama

What made the experience of listening to The Light Years the most enjoyable?

Enjoyed the narration and the story starts light and and happy, but becomes darker and more complex as the character relationships are explored in detail.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Light Years?

The sense of war looming builds through the book.

What about Jill Balcon’s performance did you like?

Easy to listen to, well articulated. Good sense of character voice.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Swan song for a bygone era.

Any additional comments?

Great storytelling. Captures a different era and the mores very well. Class distinction, adultery, incest, looming war. Easy to become immersed in a different world.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Meet the family?

The Cazalet saga been highly recommended for years, so I took a double plunge, buying the book and Audible and constantly switching between them. The book proved vital, with the list of characters and the family tree at the start - Audible would have been more difficult without those at hand. Overall I found it a little disappointing but suspect this was our introduction to the characters before the action starts. I already have the second book and I may add Audible to that too. Looking forward to more.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Nice story

A nice story, nicely narrated, although I did need to keep flicking back as there are so many characters I did keep getting a little mixed up at times. Would definitely read more books by Jane Howard.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful!

Wonderfully written and beautifully read - very enjoyable. At one point I felt that it was a little slow, but when I persevered the story grabbed me again, and kept me interested until the end. The characters are very believable and involving and I loved the feeling of period. I now NEED to know what happens next! Downloading the next one as I write!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An absolute delight

I’m delighted that the Cazalet Chronicles were recommended to me. The characters and the pre WW2 era are vividly and beautifully evoked. Jill Balcon’s narration is perfect. I had not appreciated that the author was such a superb writer. I can’t bear to leave the Cazalets yet so I’ve started the second book already

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

light years

I struggled to finis this story and found it difficult to hear the reading. I am a little deaf I must admit but it spoiled the enjoyment of the book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Powerful and memorable

Second time round even better. Believable characters with a great sense of place and history

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

lovely read.

Reading this book,it ca almost make you feel like you have parts in the story, with a good imagination, I am deffinatly going to read all the authors books,And fabulously narrated too. would recommend 👌

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful story to listen to

Loved listening to the characters unfold - the writer paints a beautiful portrait of pre war life in the countryside and the narrators voice and telling of the tale is perfect. On to book 2 now

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