Disappointed

A very long novel brilliantly narrated. Story line hard to follow. Not as good as birdsong. I may give his other French trilogy novel a go as I have that one as well.

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Great book

Great listen.
This is just as good as Birdsong.
Sebastian Faulks is a brilliant author.
I look forward to listening to more of his books.

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2 people found this helpful

I Loved This Novel So Much, And Learned So Much!

So I read Charlotte Grey after reading Birdsong also by Sebastian Faulks. Because I enjoyed Birdsong so much I some how didn't expect to enjoy this story as much. How wrong I was, I absolutely loved it! and have since watched the movie with Cate Blanchett, also good! I knew nothing about the French Resistance and I have learnt so much from reading this novel. It has been excellently written and excellently well researched. The bravery of those people during World War II they risked their lives, I can only try to imagine what they endured. I didn't know anything about the Vichy Government and how France was pushed around so much by the Germans and the people lived in fear of their lives. It was a piece of history I didn't know much about, and it has sparked my interest to learn more. I have also watched the movie about Marcel Marceau called Resistance, also excellent! Jamie Glover was also excellent at reading this novel. I highly recommend Charlotte Grey, and Sebastian Faulks has become one of my favourite authors, he's such a good story teller!

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War Time Drama

I learnt a lot about the history through this novel, well written and engaging.

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Michael

Brilliant narration. If he hasn't received an award for this already he deserves to be given one.
Story I thought was overly wordy in places, but it harrowingly made apparent, why the war had to be fought.

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Gripping and fascinating throughout.

Narating was brilliant using multiple accents and voice tones. This combined with the descriptive writing served to paint and extremely vivid picture at all times. A fascinating story placed in a thoroughly researched background.

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absorbing story and perfomances

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes, I had forgotten what a good story this was having read it when it was first published.

What other book might you compare Charlotte Gray to, and why?

Red Joan - war time story about people lives and the sacrifices they made.

Have you listened to any of Jamie Glover’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Not sure - probably. He was excellent.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not really.

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2 people found this helpful

Varied reading experience

The novel meanders as a result of a rambling plot and an irritating lead character who wanders at will across France during her SOE mission, seemingly doing nothing other than putting others at risk. There is excellent content regarding the second world war collaboration of the Vichy government, and these sections alone make the book worthwhile (hence 3 stars overall). However, the juxtaposition of fiction and non-fiction sit uncomfortably.

I am not sure I would have persevered with reading this book because, truly, some of it is embarrassingly weak. It really would have benefitted from some severe editing.

The performance was good enough, but the repeated incorrect pronunciation of the word 'grimace' was a spoiler.

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1 person found this helpful

An exceptionally well told story, in every respect

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this intriguing story which was made all the more enjoyable by Jamie Glover's brilliant rendition. The accents which he uses are particularly praiseworthy, from the "pear-fect" soft Highland intonations of the Gray family to the clipped 1940's BBC accents of the Whitehall chappies - I felt that time & space had been transcended.
The story is of war so it is not a happy tale but it is such a well developed story, obviously meticulously researched, that the human elements of the conflict are all powerful.
Having listened to Faulk's earlier story, "Birdsong" about the First World War, I was quite emotionally moved by the links which he had so cleverly contrived to include in this story. It somehow made it all the more real.

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12 people found this helpful

Atmospheric retelling of wartime events

I enjoyed the narration, The story unwound gradually pulling me in. The scenes round the camp in Paris are disturbing, as they need to be. These events should not be forgotten. The tragic involvement of ordinary French citizens in the deportation of the Jews is laid bare.

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