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Calling Me Home
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Lorna Raver
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
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Calling Me Home
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Summary
A stunning, moving tale of forbidden love in segregated 1930s Kentucky, perfect for fans of The Help.
Love doesn't play by the rules… Shalerville, Kentucky, 1939. A world where black maids and handymen are trusted to raise white children and tend to white houses, but from which they are banished after dark. Sixteen-year-old Isabelle McAllister, born into wealth and privilege, finds her ordered life turned upside down when she becomes attracted to Robert, the ambitious black son of her family’s housekeeper. Before long Isabelle and Robert are crossing extraordinary, dangerous boundaries and falling deeply in love.
Many years later, eighty-nine-year-old Isabelle will travel from her home in Arlington, Texas, to Ohio for a funeral. With Isabelle is her hairstylist and friend, Dorrie Curtis – a black single mother with her own problems. Along the way, Isabelle will finally reveal to Dorrie the truth of her painful past: a tale of forbidden love, the consequences of which will resound for decades…
Critic reviews
”Fans of The Help with love this touching debut…A poignant tale of race relations in America, it will have you hooked” <Sunday Express, S Magazine )
”This touching tale covers the same difficult subject of racism and segregation in 20th-centuary America as The Help. But it’s a much more human and personal book…A sad but life-affirming book” (Bella Magazine)
”Comparisons to The Help are inevitable, and though there are echoes of Kathryn Stockett’s popular best-seller to be found in Calling Me Home, Kibler has crafted a wholly original debut” (Booklist)
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What listeners say about Calling Me Home
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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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 05-02-24
A love story
I really enjoyed this book. Intresting people with diffacult histories learning to love the people in their lives dispite all the problems they encounter along the way.
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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
- sunflower
- 04-09-14
BLACK WHITE - WHITE BLACK. MESMERISING
Would you consider the audio edition of Calling Me Home to be better than the print version?
can't answer - haven't read the print version. However, I applaud the readers of the audio edition. Their expressive voices, their interactions - that they were (seemingly) of the place and time gave the storyline a vibrant life.
Any additional comments?
CallingMeHome has become part of a triumvirate for me - there are 3 audible books over and above good; this is one of them. It, and the others, left me more knowledgeable - about the subject matter; more moved - that man/woman behave thus, and beyond grateful that such books have been written, and audio'd!
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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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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Esther Loftus Gough
- 26-11-17
Calling me home
Very good reading experience with interesting characters and story line. Audiobook was great to listen to.
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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
- Venetia
- 13-12-13
A gentle road trip
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I would definitely recommend this book to a friend. I loved it. A hard-hitting, touching story of love and loss, race and hopelessness and of the damage that society can subject its people to.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I cannot choose between the two main characters. Both were well-crafted and rounded and one without the other is unthinkable. The story is dependent on the relationship between the two women and, therefore, the one complements the other.
What does Bahni Turpin and Lorna Raver bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Both narrators were excellent and their readings added colour and character to the book. These readers were obviously very carefully chosen and the people who cast them have to be congratulated.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I cried at the end of this book. Both characters were very real to me, but the end was perfect.
Any additional comments?
A lovely gentle listen even though the story was harrowing at times.
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9 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
- Annie
- 16-11-14
Wow!
Where does Calling Me Home rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Calling Me Home, is one of the top audio books that I have listened to and I have listened to some good ones!
What did you like best about this story?
I loved the storyline and the way that it was narrated. Although it was two stories that intertwined and at others more, the tale was clearly told and brilliantly read, making it easy to follow.
Which character – as performed by Bahni Turpin and Lorna Raver – was your favourite?
I loved both of the main female characters. I loved the readers voices too. I love the way that they interpreted the relationship between the two women.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
The book did make me cry, when Isabelle lost her baby.
Any additional comments?
Read it or rather listen, you might find that you enjoy it as much as I did.
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4 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
- Fiona
- 19-08-14
Great book !
Where does Calling Me Home rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
The characters, the history, the injustice of life. It made me laugh and cry, I wanted to listen to it all the time.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Yes definitely I'm now interested in listening to others books with a history like this.
Which scene did you most enjoy?
The narration along with the story line makes this a good listen. I wanted to know what was going to happen next but it also went at a nice pace not hurrying along. I found myself speaking out loud at some of the things that were happening as well as laughing out loud. I would listen to it again.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Nothing
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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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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kate Birnie
- 26-04-15
Loved it
I loved this book. It was a gentle amble of a story but with hard hitting, sad waves of racism running through it. We are so lucky to live now!
I pretty much guessed where we were heading but that didn't take away from the beauty of the writing.
A true love story
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1 person 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
- nicola
- 30-04-15
Heartbreakingly beautiful read
A beautiful story of love,heartbreak and the ongoing struggles for equality.i love Isabells character and the author made it easy to both relate to ,love and hate the characters
I would definitely recommend this story
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1 person 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
- Jen
- 18-05-19
loved it!
Couldn't stop listening until I reached the end. Engaging narrative with memorable characters whose story stays with you long after you have finished the book
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1 person 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
- Julie
- 30-06-23
loved it
Thi is such a wonderful story, well written, I really enjoyed listening to it.
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