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Marina

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Marina

By: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
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About this listen

We all have a secret buried under lock and key in the attic of our soul. This is mine . . .

In May 1980, 15-year-old Óscar Drai suddenly vanishes from his boarding school in the old quarter of Barcelona. For seven days and nights no one knows his whereabouts . . .

His story begins in the heart of old Barcelona, when he meets Marina and her father German Blau, a portrait painter. Marina takes Óscar to a cemetery and at 10 am, a coach pulled by horses appears. From it descends a woman dressed in black, her face shrouded, wearing gloves, holding a single rose. She walks over to a gravestone that bears no name, only the mysterious emblem of a black butterfly with open wings.

When Óscar and Marina decide to follow her they begin a journey that will take them to the heights of a forgotten, post-war Barcelona, a world of aristocrats and actresses, inventors and tycoons; and a dark secret that lies waiting in the mysterious labyrinth beneath the city streets.

Audiobook read by Daniel Weyman.©2008 Dragonworks, S.L. (P)2013 Orion Publishing Group
Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt
All stars
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Great story beautifully read a real pleasurable experience. Well worth the listen mystery love magic

Great story by Zafron

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one of those difficult to put down stories, so don't start listening unless you are prepared to give the time to become enthralled

a brilliant listen from start to finish

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Where does Marina rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I've definitely listened to better stories. Some of the books I listened to made me really look forward to my daily train commutes. This book didn't. But overall it was solid. I don't regret having bought it.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have made it less grotesque. A lot of the elements in the story could be described as 'horror'. Though I like an element of magic in a book, this story really pushed my suspension of disbelief to the limits. Even if the message was clear and I understand why the writer chose to tell the story like this, I was so thrown off by the unrealistic course of events that I couldn't enjoy the story as much as I wanted to.

What does Daniel Weyman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

He is a very good narrator. He made this story a lot more enjoyable. I'm not sure I would have finished reading the book but listening to him made it a good overall experience.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No.

Didn't quite live up to my expectations

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This is my 5th Book by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and my least favourite. Despite that, his style is superb and the performance is great. Enjoyable, but ai preferred his tetralogy of the cemetery of the lost books

Beautiful

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I'm a fan of the Shadow of the Wind and didn't expect to be equally enthralled - but I was. Daniel Weyman does an exceptionally good job of the narration.

Beautifully written, translated and read

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