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The Daughter's Tale

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The Daughter's Tale

By: Armando Lucas Correa
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
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About this listen

 Based on the true story of the Nazi massacre of a French village in 1944, an unforgettable tale of love and redemption from the bestselling author of The German Girl.

Berlin, 1939: Bookstore owner and recent widow Amanda Sternberg is fleeing Nazi Germany with her two young daughters, heading towards unoccupied France. She arrives in Haute-Vienne with only one of her girls. Their freedom is short-lived and soon they are taken to a labour camp.

New York City, 2015: Elise Duval, eighty years old, receives a phone call from a woman recently arrived from Cuba bearing messages from a time and country that she's long forgotten. A French Catholic who arrived in New York after World War II, Elise and her world are forever changed when the woman arrives with letters written to Elise from her mother in German during the war, unravelling more than seven decades of secrets.

Inspired by one of the most shocking atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis during World War II, the 1944 massacre of all the inhabitants of the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in the south of France, The Daughter's Tale is a beautifully crafted family saga of love, survival and hope against all odds.

‘Breathtakingly threaded together from start to finish with the sound of a beating heart.’ THE NEW YORK TIMES

‘Not many novels bring me to tears… it takes a special storyteller to tell the tale of such devastation. It seems so wrong to say I loved this book, but I did. I loved, I learned, I cried.’ Natasha Lester

'Reminds us that it is in the darkest gardens that the brightest seeds of hope are sown' Kristin Harmel, bestselling author of The Room on Rue Amelie Historical Thriller & Suspense New York War Fiction

Critic Reviews

"[The Daughter's Tale is] better written and more tightly edited than most books in this genre, and the story line is breathtakingly threaded together from start to finish with the sound of a beating heart. Or more to the point, the silence between the heartbeats. Correa’s prose is atmospheric, but what’s most fascinating about this novel is his portrayal of terrified yet strong female characters who anticipate future trials and methodically work through them. Amanda knows that each decision she makes will have an impact on the next, but her goal is always survival."
"Correa offers a gripping and richly detailed account of lives torn apart by war."
"[A] searing second novel."
"This “must read’ novel is spellbinding, bolstered by Correa’s extensive research, visits to war sites in France and Germany and survivor interviews. It reveals a past many prefer forgetting — true, horrific stories that emerge from hate that we should really be retelling, repeatedly, so we continue to remember."
"[A] detailed, immersive chronicle of World War II’s tragedy, the power of love and the lengths to which a mother will go to save her children when there are no choices left."
"[A] gorgeous, heartbreaking historical novel [...] perfect for fans of Martha Hall Kelly's Lilac Girls — and is sure to be a favorite at book clubs."
"THE DAUGHTER’S TALE is well researched and informed by actual historic events, stories that will vividly remind readers of the horrors of war. The book’s scope is ambitious, but its emotional core is palpable and affecting. [...] the emotions underpinning their speeches seem genuine, and the love at the heart of this war-torn family will inspire readers’ compassion as well."
All stars
Most relevant
I was in tears reading this book but couldn’t stop listening.
What brave Mothers they were.

Sad story.

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What a heart-wrenching story that takes you on a journey. I really felt for the characters and what they went through. Shocking and sad, hopeful but never happy, I was so invested from start to finish. Not my usual read, nor do I enjoy female narrators usually, but this one was excellent. Get the tissues, you'll need them.

Heartbreaking

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This could have been such an interesting book. But... overwritten, full of deadening detail that buries an interesting idea in trivia.

Disappointing

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