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White Gardenia cover art

White Gardenia

By: Belinda Alexandra
Narrated by: Deidre Rubenstein
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Publisher's Summary

In the tradition of Paullina Simons comes an unforgettable story of a mother and daughter from a remarkable new writer. Beginning in a small village under Japanese occupation on the Chinese-Russian border in the final days of World War II, White Gardenia tells the story of a Russian mother and daughter separated by war. From the glamorous nightclubs of Shanghai to the harshness of the Siberian wasteland, from a desolate island in the South China Sea and to a new life in post-war Australia, and finally to Cold War Moscow, White Gardenia sweeps across cultures and continents.
©2002 Belinda Alexandra (P)2003 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic Reviews

"Deidre Rubenstein's well-modulated contralto voice brings empathy and compassion to Alexandra's first novel....Powerful dramatization." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about White Gardenia

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Very interesting story

I loved this story and to find out how this tied into the authors family history is very special.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Almost

I enjoyed travelling along with Anya and the other characters in the White Gardenia and found it quite compelling on the whole. However I found Anya’s angst at times over dramatised and repetitive which distracted me from the story. I began to feel less sympathetic towards her character and by the end when sympathy was needed, less able to understand her choice to risk her child and husband lives. Having said this it was still a good read and “almost” great.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

Enjoyable story, and captivating, and the narrator was fabulous. However, the music bursting randomly and suddenly throughout was just seriously awful. I could not even hear the authors notes at end, due to music coming over top of narrators voice. This really needs to be changed for a more enjoyable experience with this book!

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