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Letter From A Stranger (2012)

by Barbara Taylor Bradford(Favorite Author)

3.33 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0312631685 (ISBN13: 9780312631680)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

St. Martin's Press

review 1: First off, I listened to the audiobook... and got hung up with the reader being so aware of diction that it drove me a little crazy at first. I think I would have rated a book version a little better just for that reason.The story line was great, and I love stories that look back in time. The most enjoyable part of this audiobook was the grandmother's story told in a young, British voice. The story of her youth in Nazi Berlin during WWII was rich and descriptive. I loved her character and friends during that whole part. It was the present day granddaughter Justine's lines (and the reader's voice) that seemed unnatural and too proper for an American. Conversations between the lead character and her brother are a little chopped for me... and again with her love interest... more later.... just a problem with the Americans' conversations.Too bad because it was a very good story. Justine reads a letter from a stranger that leads her to her grandmother who she thought was dead the past ten years. She discovers so much about her grandmother and it is a wonderful relationship. I would recommend READING the BOOK. :)WendyStaff
review 2: I have been trying to widen my horizons and read new authors. Barbara Taylor Bradford was one I might have wanted to miss. I did give the book a chance. I enjoyed parts of it, mainly the section written in retrospective but the book didn't feel real. The characters seemed like imitations of real people. I've never heard people talk the way Justine and Michael do. They seem to come from a different time. They were supposed to be people of a similar age to myself and they talked like someone from the 1950's. Their speech was very proper and they used odd wording. She describes hanging up the phone as clicking off. This could just be a British thing but she also uses zapping the tv as a way of changing channels. These seem like antiquated terms that todays adults don't use. Certain parts of the book just happened too easily and parts were explained away without any real worry. One of the main reasons for the hurry to find Justine's grandma was because she was "sick" and needed to see her family before she died. This is all but explained away. Her "sickness" was heart sickness not near death. Justine just seems to fall on her grandmother with no problems, finding her by accident. It was just too easy.The way that Justine talks about her mother is so ridiculous. Richard, her twin, talks about her mother like she is subhuman. I've never really heard of someone describe their own mother as a flake or the other many odd ways they describe her. Deborah becomes an easy scapegoat in this story. We don't have to feel sorry for her because she is a monster. Life is never that easy. People have way more layers than just evil. The book could have been a lot shorter too. Many sections of the book were spent having repetitive conversations that were unreal. The only thing that Michael and Justine have in common is Justine's grandma and the odd way that she found her. Every other conversation is about this or the struck by lightening phenomenon. Maybe I'm not a romantic but these people have nothing in common and I don't understand the romantic attraction, except for the fact that he is "drop dead gorgeous." I've never read about a bunch of people that were so selfish and beauty centered. I get enough of that in my every day life. Lastly, these people have way too much money. When do people go jet setting to other countries, own summer homes, and multiple businesses. I was surprised by how rich these people were. It was like they wanted for nothing. The way they discussed their servants was ridiculous. They acted like they were family but servants still work for you. They are getting paid. To have this bizarre reality that they were just a huge family is living life with blinders on. If they were really part of your family they would sit with you when you ate dinner. Also when do people know princes, princes, lords and ladies. I felt this story was not realistic, I'm more for grit in my story. People who like to wonder how the other side lives and like gooshy romances might enjoy this. I recommend Nora Roberts (romances) and Danielle Steel as readalikes.Jenny PaxsonReaders' Advisory Librarian less

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