What do you think?
Rate this book
Les voix du coeur
Francesca et Katherine, toutes deux très belles, très séduisantes, au caractère indomptable, se rencontrent au sortir de l'adolescence. Leurs destins, comme les destins des hommes qu'elles aimeront, vont se croiser, s'interpénétrer, s'affronter, de 1956 à 1979.
Roman de l'amour et de la passion, roman de l'amitié et, parfois, de la trahison, roman de la réussite et de l'ambition, Les voix du coeur consacre de façon éclatante le talent de Barbara Taylor Bradford qui a obtenu un immense succès avec son premier roman: L'espace d'une vie.
Roman de l'amour et de la passion, roman de l'amitié et, parfois, de la trahison, roman de la réussite et de l'ambition, Les voix du coeur consacre de façon éclatante le talent de Barbara Taylor Bradford qui a obtenu un immense succès avec son premier roman: L'espace d'une vie.
692 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 25, 1983
375 people are currently reading
856 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Taylor Bradford
280 books1,934 followersBarbara Taylor Bradford was a British-American best-selling novelist. Her debut novel, A Woman of Substance, was published in 1979 and sold over 30 million copies worldwide. She wrote 40 novels, all bestsellers in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
February 8, 2015
This is a book that literally took me months to read, and one which after the first couple of chapters, I strongly considered never finishing. The story was slow paced and dry with two many characters in too many different settings and didn't hold my interest. Yet I hate to not finish a book I have started, and I picked it up from time to time and slowly the characters took on a life of there own and I could not set the book aside until I had finished it. I cried several times over the final chapters. If this book could be summed up with one line, it would be: oh what a tangled life we weave when once we practice to deceive ! This should be mandatory highschool reading, to show how easily lives can become tangled when we misjudge others, or decide any question for ourselves without giving the other person the chance to explain. A good solid read that is worth the slow paced start.
May 23, 2017
I found this book to be a very satisfying read. The characters were well developed, interesting and believable.
I found it interesting that there were a lot of references to relationships between siblings, particularly brother-sister siblings. Each main character had issues, conflicts or close relationships with their opposite sex sibling.
Katherine was a very complex character and probably my favourite. Her actions caused a lot of unintentional heartbreak. Secrets, lies, friendship, betrayal and ultimately forgiveness are all explored throughout the plot of this novel.
The actions of one person can change the course of several lives, however, any one of those characters could have made a different decision and avoided years of heartbreak, sadness and the wondering of what could have been.
I found it interesting that there were a lot of references to relationships between siblings, particularly brother-sister siblings. Each main character had issues, conflicts or close relationships with their opposite sex sibling.
Katherine was a very complex character and probably my favourite. Her actions caused a lot of unintentional heartbreak. Secrets, lies, friendship, betrayal and ultimately forgiveness are all explored throughout the plot of this novel.
The actions of one person can change the course of several lives, however, any one of those characters could have made a different decision and avoided years of heartbreak, sadness and the wondering of what could have been.
October 20, 2020
I’m sure there are many people who would love this book, and in fact there are a few I will recommend it to, but unfortunately I am not one of those people. I know that writing was a bit more “relaxed” back in the eighties when this was written, but I still found it tiresomely overwritten. What could have been said in a few sentences went on for pages, repeating the same idea in different words over and over. This 700+ page novel could well have been covered much more enjoyably in less than half the pages. In addition, although I liked most of the characters in the first section of the book, my fondness for them did not grow. Much of the story was predictable. I almost stopped fifty pages in, but my life-long habit of finishing everything I start and curiosity kept me going. I was glad when it was over. As I say, this writer is good for many readers, but I won’t be reading any more of her books.
December 12, 2018
I didn’t like this book. It dragged in the beginning. It got interesting when the love interest was introduced and when a bunch of drama happened but then it started dragging again and I just found the book really confusing when new characters were introduced and I wish I wouldn’t have finished this book. I wouldn’t recommend it.
August 1, 2018
L'intreccio è molto avventuroso e ricco di personaggi. Personaggi che, come è nella natura di romanzi di questo tipo, non sono esattamente a tutto tondo e tendono un po' a somigliarsi tutti.
Dialoghi spesso imbazzanti per quanto traboccano di banalità, ma anche questa è una caratteristica del genere.
Lettura di distrazione.
Dialoghi spesso imbazzanti per quanto traboccano di banalità, ma anche questa è una caratteristica del genere.
Lettura di distrazione.
January 26, 2020
Loved this one. I had not come across it before.
November 23, 2021
Normally I enjoy BTB's novels, especially her early work. This book I'd never read, or if I had, I'd read it years ago and forgotten it. I picked it up several months ago at the Salvation Army because it sounded good.
The other day I was in the mood for a good saga, so I chose this one to read. I thought "yay, a good meaty book to get into after a string of disappointing reads."
This was also a disappointing read. Right away both female MC's were flaming Mary Sues. Katherine was gorgeous and kind and smart and funny and thoughtful and blah de blah perfect. She was an up and coming movie star with a sad past. Francesca was also gorgeous and kind and smart and funny and thoughtful and blah de blah perfect. She was an up and coming writer of historical biographies, so she was also bookish smart. Everyone loved both women. All the men wanted to have sex with them, the women were all envious of their perfection. Bleah.
The men fared no better. They were total Gary Stus. Kim and Victor and Nicky. All Stus. The kids in the novel were kiddy-sues. Katherine's daughter was pretty and smart and totally not a spoiled rotten brat. Yech.
And then there's the overblown and purple prosey descriptions of said characters. Many times it is mentioned that the women had long necks and their heads spun delicately on those necks. Their eyes were turquoise or blue or green or whatever the bumfuck color BTB decided to use as a description. Their hair was the same way. Descriptions about the color and texture and how the hair flowed down their slender necks was written ad nauseam. Same with their breasts, their legs, their torsos, their shoulders, their butts, their arms. Description after description of their beauty, not to mention a shit ton of name dropping their clothing. We get it, they're not slobby uggos who wander around in blown-out flannel jammy pants with kitties on the butt. They wouldn't be caught dead in a Walmart t-shirt with a dog on the front. Flip-flops would probably make them hiss and make the sign of Chanel. No thrift shopping for these characters, nosirree!
Whatever flaws the characters had was overwhelmed by the constant description of them. I think Katherine had some sort of mental issues, I don't know because I got so tired of the Sue aspects that I stopped reading. I did read the ending and it's the usual cliched ending of every crapfic ever written.
BTB also must've worn her thesaurus out on this one. She blew the book up with ten cent words where a five cent one would work just as well.
So, unless you lurve you some raging Mary Sues and are fine with reading a gazillion pages devoted to describing said Sues, I don't otherwise recommend this one.
The other day I was in the mood for a good saga, so I chose this one to read. I thought "yay, a good meaty book to get into after a string of disappointing reads."
This was also a disappointing read. Right away both female MC's were flaming Mary Sues. Katherine was gorgeous and kind and smart and funny and thoughtful and blah de blah perfect. She was an up and coming movie star with a sad past. Francesca was also gorgeous and kind and smart and funny and thoughtful and blah de blah perfect. She was an up and coming writer of historical biographies, so she was also bookish smart. Everyone loved both women. All the men wanted to have sex with them, the women were all envious of their perfection. Bleah.
The men fared no better. They were total Gary Stus. Kim and Victor and Nicky. All Stus. The kids in the novel were kiddy-sues. Katherine's daughter was pretty and smart and totally not a spoiled rotten brat. Yech.
And then there's the overblown and purple prosey descriptions of said characters. Many times it is mentioned that the women had long necks and their heads spun delicately on those necks. Their eyes were turquoise or blue or green or whatever the bumfuck color BTB decided to use as a description. Their hair was the same way. Descriptions about the color and texture and how the hair flowed down their slender necks was written ad nauseam. Same with their breasts, their legs, their torsos, their shoulders, their butts, their arms. Description after description of their beauty, not to mention a shit ton of name dropping their clothing. We get it, they're not slobby uggos who wander around in blown-out flannel jammy pants with kitties on the butt. They wouldn't be caught dead in a Walmart t-shirt with a dog on the front. Flip-flops would probably make them hiss and make the sign of Chanel. No thrift shopping for these characters, nosirree!
Whatever flaws the characters had was overwhelmed by the constant description of them. I think Katherine had some sort of mental issues, I don't know because I got so tired of the Sue aspects that I stopped reading. I did read the ending and it's the usual cliched ending of every crapfic ever written.
BTB also must've worn her thesaurus out on this one. She blew the book up with ten cent words where a five cent one would work just as well.
So, unless you lurve you some raging Mary Sues and are fine with reading a gazillion pages devoted to describing said Sues, I don't otherwise recommend this one.
December 31, 2020
Questo volume mi è arrivato come copia omaggio assieme ad un saggio acquistato per l'università. Quando l'ho preso tra le mani ho storto un po' il naso, pensando che mai e poi mai l'avrei letto: non sono un'amante dei romanzi "rosa".
Per fortuna non mi sono fermata all'apparenza e ho deciso di cominciarne la lettura ugualmente: in poco tempo sono rimasta catturata da questo romanzo.
Dopo le prime 30 pagine un po' lente, il ritmo della narrazione diventa più incalzante e avvince totalmente il lettore, tenendolo incollato alle pagine.
La forza principale di questo romanzo, tuttavia, non risiede nella storia in sé e per sé, poiché pochi (ma geniali) sono i colpi di scena: è infatti la costruzione dei personaggi il pregio più evidente di questa opera letteraria. La caratterizzazione dei quattro protagonisti è superba, in particolare quella dei personaggi femminili: complessi, dalle mille sfaccettature e mai scontati, in poco tempo arrivano al cuore e colpiscono per la loro umanità.
È stata una splendida lettura arrivata in chiusura di un anno difficile, e che mi sento di consigliare a tutti, anche ai più diffidenti verso questo genere di letteratura.
Un ultimo appunto: ciò che rende, secondo me, molto godibile la storia è anche il lavoro superbo fatto anni fa dalla traduttrice Roberta Rambelli attraverso l'uso di un italiano molto elegante e scorrevole, che accarezza e accompagna gentilmente il lettore lungo tutto lo svolgersi degli eventi.
Per fortuna non mi sono fermata all'apparenza e ho deciso di cominciarne la lettura ugualmente: in poco tempo sono rimasta catturata da questo romanzo.
Dopo le prime 30 pagine un po' lente, il ritmo della narrazione diventa più incalzante e avvince totalmente il lettore, tenendolo incollato alle pagine.
La forza principale di questo romanzo, tuttavia, non risiede nella storia in sé e per sé, poiché pochi (ma geniali) sono i colpi di scena: è infatti la costruzione dei personaggi il pregio più evidente di questa opera letteraria. La caratterizzazione dei quattro protagonisti è superba, in particolare quella dei personaggi femminili: complessi, dalle mille sfaccettature e mai scontati, in poco tempo arrivano al cuore e colpiscono per la loro umanità.
È stata una splendida lettura arrivata in chiusura di un anno difficile, e che mi sento di consigliare a tutti, anche ai più diffidenti verso questo genere di letteratura.
Un ultimo appunto: ciò che rende, secondo me, molto godibile la storia è anche il lavoro superbo fatto anni fa dalla traduttrice Roberta Rambelli attraverso l'uso di un italiano molto elegante e scorrevole, che accarezza e accompagna gentilmente il lettore lungo tutto lo svolgersi degli eventi.
July 18, 2023
Voice of the Heart is such a page turner , it is honestly a BIG book over 800 pages, but so well worth it , l could not put it down.
The storyline is so captivating, intriguing, with characters that were really brought to life .
Katherine Tempest , her stunning beauty, brilliant talent and almost magical allure, very irresistible and has her world of her feet .
Her rise from unknown actress to Hollywood legend is one marked by dazzling performances and a carefully concealed, yet undeniable ruthless, determined to succeed.
Katherine irrevocably changes the lives of her closest friends, the two men who love her , the woman who trust her implicitly.
She never looks back until she needs one thing they alone can give her forgiveness.
Katherine is a difficult character to like, but keep reading on, you learn to understand why she is the way she is , and it will surprise you as the chapters keep going .
Francesca was a little frustrating, but her mistakes were made because she was so young and native.
Victor so lovely but his life is such a mess.
Nick influenced by Hollywood, but such a loyal beautiful friend .
I definitely give this book a 5 STAR rating , so wonderful and it will be treasured.
Barbara Taylor Bradford is one of favourite authors, so many favourites from her , and still so many to read .
Thanks so much for this beautiful stunning book 📖 ❤
The storyline is so captivating, intriguing, with characters that were really brought to life .
Katherine Tempest , her stunning beauty, brilliant talent and almost magical allure, very irresistible and has her world of her feet .
Her rise from unknown actress to Hollywood legend is one marked by dazzling performances and a carefully concealed, yet undeniable ruthless, determined to succeed.
Katherine irrevocably changes the lives of her closest friends, the two men who love her , the woman who trust her implicitly.
She never looks back until she needs one thing they alone can give her forgiveness.
Katherine is a difficult character to like, but keep reading on, you learn to understand why she is the way she is , and it will surprise you as the chapters keep going .
Francesca was a little frustrating, but her mistakes were made because she was so young and native.
Victor so lovely but his life is such a mess.
Nick influenced by Hollywood, but such a loyal beautiful friend .
I definitely give this book a 5 STAR rating , so wonderful and it will be treasured.
Barbara Taylor Bradford is one of favourite authors, so many favourites from her , and still so many to read .
Thanks so much for this beautiful stunning book 📖 ❤
August 24, 2016
Auf...perché non c'era niente altro.
#noradiozone #nowifizone
#noradiozone #nowifizone
January 23, 2022
🌟Katherine Tempest, artis legendaris Hollywood memulai karirnya dari dunia teater. Selain ambisi dan kerja keras, akting yang cemerlang, wajah cantik dengan daya pikat luar biasa, sikap supel dan ramah, menjadi modal tambahannya berhasil sukses dalam dunia gemerlap bintang.
.
🌟Namun, orang-orang di sekitarnya tidak pernah tahu, bahwa di balik kesuksesan seorang Tempest, ada hati yang pernah terluka, bahkan belum sembuh hingga kini. Hati seorang anak kecil yang pernah dilecehkan secara seksual oleh teman bisnis ayahnya, dan seakan itu belum cukup, dia malah dituduh berbohong ketika mengadukan itu ke ayah sendiri. Katherine dibuang ke sekolah asrama hanya karena ayahnya tidak ingin berhubungan dengan anak yang dianggab tidak bisa diandalkan untuk mencapai impian keluarga.
.
🌟Persahabatannya dengan Francesca Cunningham, Nick Latimer dan Viktor Mason, bagai obat yang selalu bisa menyembuhkan rasa sakit, di saat mentalnya yang tidak stabil kumat. Mereka juga yang membantu karir Katherine hingga bisa mencapai posisi maha bintang seperti sekarang.
.
🌟Namun, bukannya bersyukur, dengan sangat manipulatif, Katherine malah mengkhianati ketiganya dengan perkataan telak yang mengubah jalan hidup mereka semua. Persahabatan itu hancur, dan tidak mungkin rasanya untuk bisa kembali seperti semula. Mereka berpisah, dilandasi rasa kemarahan dan kecemburuan membabi-buta. Ego yang terlalu kuat, mengalahkan logika yang sebenarnya bisa dilakukan demi meraih kebahagiaan.
.
🌟Puluhan tahun berlalu, dan ketika kanker yang menyerang Katherine hanya menyisakan waktu 7-9 bulan untuk hidupnya, Katherine merasa butuh untuk menjelaskan perbuatannya di masa lalu, dan demi memohon satu kata dari para sahabatnya-MAAF..
.
🌟Namun, orang-orang di sekitarnya tidak pernah tahu, bahwa di balik kesuksesan seorang Tempest, ada hati yang pernah terluka, bahkan belum sembuh hingga kini. Hati seorang anak kecil yang pernah dilecehkan secara seksual oleh teman bisnis ayahnya, dan seakan itu belum cukup, dia malah dituduh berbohong ketika mengadukan itu ke ayah sendiri. Katherine dibuang ke sekolah asrama hanya karena ayahnya tidak ingin berhubungan dengan anak yang dianggab tidak bisa diandalkan untuk mencapai impian keluarga.
.
🌟Persahabatannya dengan Francesca Cunningham, Nick Latimer dan Viktor Mason, bagai obat yang selalu bisa menyembuhkan rasa sakit, di saat mentalnya yang tidak stabil kumat. Mereka juga yang membantu karir Katherine hingga bisa mencapai posisi maha bintang seperti sekarang.
.
🌟Namun, bukannya bersyukur, dengan sangat manipulatif, Katherine malah mengkhianati ketiganya dengan perkataan telak yang mengubah jalan hidup mereka semua. Persahabatan itu hancur, dan tidak mungkin rasanya untuk bisa kembali seperti semula. Mereka berpisah, dilandasi rasa kemarahan dan kecemburuan membabi-buta. Ego yang terlalu kuat, mengalahkan logika yang sebenarnya bisa dilakukan demi meraih kebahagiaan.
.
🌟Puluhan tahun berlalu, dan ketika kanker yang menyerang Katherine hanya menyisakan waktu 7-9 bulan untuk hidupnya, Katherine merasa butuh untuk menjelaskan perbuatannya di masa lalu, dan demi memohon satu kata dari para sahabatnya-MAAF..
July 19, 2019
Why doesn’t BTB write books like this anymore? I honestly thought I’d read Voice of The Heart before, but if I have it must have been back in the day when it was first published, because no huge clanging bells started ringing.
I’ve always loved BTB’s books, although for me none will ever shunt ‘A Woman of Substance’ from the No. 1 spot. In the past few years her books though seem to have lost their way. The ‘Cavendon Hall’ series should have been a huge hit for me, but they never reached that WoW reaction, even though the timeline and subject was right up my street.
VoTH, I absolutely loved. It has all that rich description the author is so brilliant at. As usual there are a heck of a lot of characters to keep track of, the research must have been phenomenal, there are so many subjects covered. The story is a bit like a roller coaster and the plot wasn’t obvious. The ending in one part isn’t what you expect.
From the very beginning I took a strong dislike to Katharine Tempest. She was just too good to be true. I still disliked her at the end. My favourite character was Francesca Cunningham, although unfortunately as she is not the main character does not get as much coverage as Tempest.
I’ve always loved BTB’s books, although for me none will ever shunt ‘A Woman of Substance’ from the No. 1 spot. In the past few years her books though seem to have lost their way. The ‘Cavendon Hall’ series should have been a huge hit for me, but they never reached that WoW reaction, even though the timeline and subject was right up my street.
VoTH, I absolutely loved. It has all that rich description the author is so brilliant at. As usual there are a heck of a lot of characters to keep track of, the research must have been phenomenal, there are so many subjects covered. The story is a bit like a roller coaster and the plot wasn’t obvious. The ending in one part isn’t what you expect.
From the very beginning I took a strong dislike to Katharine Tempest. She was just too good to be true. I still disliked her at the end. My favourite character was Francesca Cunningham, although unfortunately as she is not the main character does not get as much coverage as Tempest.
February 2, 2020
Voces del corazón es una densa novela que cuenta la historia de dos mujeres, Francesca y Katherine. En el relato de Barbara Taylor Bradford, ambas mujeres se conocen apenas adolescentes, y sus destinos se cruzarán a lo largo de toda la vida, llegando incluso al enfrentamiento. Ambas mujeres son bellas y seductoras. Sus caracteres indomables las llevan a un continuo desafío a todo: a los hombres, a la vida, a ellas mismas... Esto da lugar a situaciones tensas y apasionantes.
Muy buena historia. Hay romances, tanto para Francesca como para Katherine, pero la historia no va de eso, sino de la amistad entre ambas. De como nace, siendo muy jovencitas y como crece para luego romperse. La recuerdo con cariño. Ya no escriben libros así.
Muy buena historia. Hay romances, tanto para Francesca como para Katherine, pero la historia no va de eso, sino de la amistad entre ambas. De como nace, siendo muy jovencitas y como crece para luego romperse. La recuerdo con cariño. Ya no escriben libros así.
July 11, 2023
senyumnya pasti. "sampai akhir hayatku." katanya.
ahh I love BTB ♡︎ this is a very heartbreaking and heartwarming story...great for mindless reading on a rainy day....
another very lengthy but very involved romance novel. an english debutante meets an american movie star and their romance begins. correct me if Im wrong, I remember the scene begins in the 1950s and continues through the 1970s... but that is a rough estimate as I read this book a (not-so) long time ago.
ahh I love BTB ♡︎ this is a very heartbreaking and heartwarming story...great for mindless reading on a rainy day....
another very lengthy but very involved romance novel. an english debutante meets an american movie star and their romance begins. correct me if Im wrong, I remember the scene begins in the 1950s and continues through the 1970s... but that is a rough estimate as I read this book a (not-so) long time ago.
December 7, 2023
A ideia de escrever sobre a amizade entre duas mulheres para ser interessante precisa de suficientes conflitos dentro de uma ambientação problemátca ou uma escrita primorosa... só que não temos nada disso nesse livro.
A Voz do Coração se arrasta por quase mil páginas em que apenas em alguns momentos - quando surge o interesse amoroso, por exemplo - adquiriu algum drama. Refiro-me a construção da história, não a momentos sensacionalistas pensados para manipular o leitor.
Dispensável.
A Voz do Coração se arrasta por quase mil páginas em que apenas em alguns momentos - quando surge o interesse amoroso, por exemplo - adquiriu algum drama. Refiro-me a construção da história, não a momentos sensacionalistas pensados para manipular o leitor.
Dispensável.
December 24, 2022
I love reading Barbara Taylor Bradford but honestly, I just couldn't get through this book. It was just too descriptive for my taste and I found myself loosing interest after trying to get through the long tedious descriptive parts of the book. This was my third attempt at trying to read this book with no success. Unfortunately I'll have to mark this one as a DNF
October 29, 2023
Took me a while to get into it but I think that makes sense with the amount of pages it has. The story itself was very interesting with Katharines complex character and all the relationships between the persons, I was especially invested in the Victor and Francesca romance. The end literally made me cry in public, it’s so heartbreaking.
July 6, 2017
I thought the author used far too many descriptive words which made me keep putting it aside as it was taking too long to read. Eventually I decided to finish it and actually enjoyed the book as a whole.
September 17, 2019
Good story but appalling editing
The spelling throughout this book is dreadful. It looks as though it has been scanned but never checked. In some cases, it made understanding very difficult and rather spoiled what would otherwise have been a good book.
The spelling throughout this book is dreadful. It looks as though it has been scanned but never checked. In some cases, it made understanding very difficult and rather spoiled what would otherwise have been a good book.
February 19, 2020
The proof reader needs sacking
The book was ok, but far too many laborious details about what the character looked like, what they were wearing and also pages of descriptions of rooms and houses.
However, the book was totally spoiled by the amount of spelling mistakes.
The book was ok, but far too many laborious details about what the character looked like, what they were wearing and also pages of descriptions of rooms and houses.
However, the book was totally spoiled by the amount of spelling mistakes.
February 3, 2024
DNF. Trigger warning was needed with this book. The age gap I didn't like but could get over but the underage SA came out of nowhere and sent me into a panic. Definitely do not read if this also triggers you. I stopped reading at this point in the story.
October 7, 2024
I usually enjoy all of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s books, but this one didn’t work for me. It was written in 1983, and I think the basic story could have been told in less than the 890 pages of this novel.
December 24, 2025
Heaven protect me from writers who take God's name in vain!
The story dragged a bit in several places. I don't need to read 5,000 words on how a room looks.
Even worse I wish these writers who are disrespectful to God would not take His name in vain!
The story dragged a bit in several places. I don't need to read 5,000 words on how a room looks.
Even worse I wish these writers who are disrespectful to God would not take His name in vain!
Read
July 15, 2019Seriously life is to short and there are too many good books out there to read. Some books don’t bear revisiting. Didn’t finish but there isn’t a button for that.
July 19, 2019
My favourite BTB book with characters I rooted for and a plot twist that I didn't see coming. I loved it!
July 29, 2019
Read this years ago...
May 1, 2020
I personally think this book would be better if it was 300 pages shorter. It was slow going in many places. I skipped those parts which were boring.
March 31, 2021
Romance. Good story but it goes on forever. Way too long.
June 21, 2022
It was too white. Could not finish. Could not get through "the whole enchilada."
August 5, 2022
Abandoned this at 36%. Confused. Too many characters. Lengthy, irrelevant descriptions of the colour of the curtains etc. Wouldn’t recommend
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews