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The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

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The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

By: Holly Ringland
Narrated by: Louise Crawford
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About this listen

Winner of the 2019 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year Award.

The international best seller, now sold to more than 24 territories internationally, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart tells the enchanting and compelling story of a young girl, daughter of an abusive father, who has to learn the hard way that she can break the patterns of the past, live on her own terms, and find her own strength.

"Lush, powerful...an engrossing novel of female survival." (Bookseller + Publisher)

A young girl loses both her parents in a tragic event and is taken to live with her grandmother on a flower farm. Growing up, Alice learns the language of Australian native flowers as a way to say the things that are too hard to speak. But she also learns that there are secrets within secrets about her past. An unexpected betrayal leaves her reeling, and she escapes to try to make her own—sometimes painful—way through the world and to find her story.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is a story about stories: those we inherit, those we select to define us, and those we decide to hide. It is a novel about the secrets we keep and how they haunt us and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive.

Spanning 20 years and set between sugarcane fields by the sea, a native Australian flower farm, and a celestial crater in the central desert, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart follows the life of Alice as she discovers that the most powerful story she will ever possess is her own.

©2018 HarperCollins Publishers Australia pty Ltd (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers Australia pty Ltd Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Romance Survival Heartfelt Feel-Good Funny

Critic Reviews

"Lush, powerful... This is an engrossing novel imbued with passion and reverence for the Australian natural world, with a cast of characters that inspire affection in the reader even as they make mistakes. Those who couldn't put down The Natural Way of Things will find a gentler but no less compelling journey of female survival in this novel." (Bookseller + Publisher)

"There's an aching heart beating through Holly Ringland's narrative that although at times seems almost broken, is stitched back together with shards of optimism that offer constant hope. These are characters we love, care about and want to nurture... A vivid and brave tale of love, loss and inner power." (Australian Women's Weekly)

"A beautifully written, hopeful and enthralling tale...an enchanting read." (Herald Sun)
All stars
Most relevant  
This beautiful book probably needs a trigger warning. Contains (not overly graphic) depictions of family/ domestic violence and animal abuse. I wasn’t expecting that at all and wouldn’t be something I’d usually tolerate in a book, however
I really enjoyed this book. It’s captivating storytelling of relationships and hardships of insights and growing up. I loved all the flower references and the fictional red dirt town . The Spanish accent should really be re recorded

Excellent storytelling

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This story had great parts and a lot of potential but the storytelling didn’t do it for me. It was a bit slow moving, I found myself waiting for the turning point which only came in the last chapter. There were parts that didn’t really add anything to the narrative. And I really wanted the main character to come to a realisation and turn her life around herself rather than seemingly get out of a bad situation purely by luck.

A little slow moving for me

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This was a good story but I felt like some parts were a bit weak and not believable. The indigenous accents were terrible and the narrator often made the made character sound childish.

Enjoyable

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I loved this book - I ended up buying a hard copy of it after finding it impossible to listen to the audio. The narrator makes the characters all sound heartless and like they aren't real humans. Found it highly discouraging and almost put me off the book.
Would highly recommend READING the book - gives you much more of a flavour of what the world is..

Terrible Performance

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loved every minute of this book. It's very descriptive with the Australian landscape and flowers

Loved It

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loved your energy on Gardening Australia, was thoroughly enchanted by your novel, highly recommend

Thank You Gardening Australia

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When you listen to this story you will experience sunsets in all the colours you never noticed before. You will also wonder about the lines between love, honesty, courage and caring. The emotions and voices of the characters are superbly narrated and in my view this essential to the enjoyment of this story. I am richer for this experience - thank you Holly and Louise.

Exceptional!

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Found it hard to get past the terrible accents the narrator put on and generally annoying voices for different characters. Also hated the chiming/music that played during poem readings etc. Some good writing and imagery but overall found myself not really caring much about the outcome of the story or the characters. Maybe this was because I was so triggered by the voices- perhaps I would have enjoyed more if I had read it instead.

Story ok, narration terrible

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Enjoyed hearing about the flowers and getting a small insight into domestic violence and the thought processes

Story about stories

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This was just a brilliant story and read with the utmost energy that gave it magic to listen to! As dark as the story took us, it was gripping, taking me through a roller coaster of emotions. Loved it.

What A Story!!!

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.