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I find myself thinking about this book a lot, months after finishing it. I didn’t initially write a review, because I didn’t enjoy the book’s beginning. But the last third was so compelling, and it’s really stayed with me. Hard to explain without a spoiler, but I love what DES does with our heroine—the way she lives her life and the woman she becomes.
Stevenson published Listening Valley near the end of the war, and I do think her WW II writing is some of her best. This may be my first DES re-re ...more
Stevenson published Listening Valley near the end of the war, and I do think her WW II writing is some of her best. This may be my first DES re-re ...more
Listening Valley is sort of a sequel to Celia's House. The young American that is introduced in the last page of the first book reappears in Chapter 20 of Listening Valley. Many of the allusions to family names in Listening Valley make more sense if you've read the first book. BUT Listening Valley can be read as a stand-alone because the story line is completely different. It is not as satisfying as many of Stevenson's other titles because it is not as light-hearted. It was published in 1944 and
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Another wonderful story set in WW2.
Set in Scotland.
Tonia is lost when her older sister marries and moves away.
She ends up marrying a much older man who helps her to enjoy life and to find herself.
After his death she moves back to Scotand and ends up with her child hood friend who she eventually marries.
A gentle story with wondeful characters that I couldn't put down.
So glad that these books are being republished.
...more
Set in Scotland.
Tonia is lost when her older sister marries and moves away.
She ends up marrying a much older man who helps her to enjoy life and to find herself.
After his death she moves back to Scotand and ends up with her child hood friend who she eventually marries.
A gentle story with wondeful characters that I couldn't put down.
So glad that these books are being republished.
...more
I was excited to see that “Listening Valley”, another D.E. Stevenson novel, is being republished and released in January!
Here is the first paragraph from my (old, hardback) copy:
“Most people, looking back at their childhood, see it as a misty country half-forgotten or only to be remembered through an evocative sound or scent, but some episodes of those short years remain clear and brightly colored like a landscape seen through the wrong end of a telescope. It was thus that Louise Melville was al ...more
Book: Because of the setting—World War II London during the Blitz and a town in Scotland during the war—this D.E. Stevenson book is darker than many of her other novels. (It's pertinent to note this was actually written and published during the war.) Even so Stevenson managed to tell the story with great emotion and tension but without being too distressingly graphic.
4.5 stars
Narration: The narrator's normal reading tone was fine unfortunately the voices she used for many of the characters were ...more
4.5 stars
Narration: The narrator's normal reading tone was fine unfortunately the voices she used for many of the characters were ...more
Because of the setting—World War II London during the Blitz and a town in Scotland during the war—this D.E. Stevenson book is darker than many of her other novels. (It's pertinent to note this was actually written and published during the war.) Even so Stevenson managed to tell the story with great emotion and tension but without being too distressingly graphic.
4.5 stars ...more
4.5 stars ...more
It pulled me in and kept me reading, but it is still not among my very favorites for this author, although I know it is for my daughter and other friends. I like Tonia, the main character, very much. I like her marriage to an older man, who carefully builds her up from the neglectful and careless upbringing of her parents. It really is a good book.
An absolute 5-star read for me.
While not a sequel to CELIA'S HOUSE, it is more enjoyable to have read that earlier D.E. Stevenson before starting LISTENING VALLEY, due to the references to familiar people and places.
This is a lovely, well-written story. Very highly recommended! ...more
While not a sequel to CELIA'S HOUSE, it is more enjoyable to have read that earlier D.E. Stevenson before starting LISTENING VALLEY, due to the references to familiar people and places.
This is a lovely, well-written story. Very highly recommended! ...more
Interesting and at times sobering read. Much of the story takes place during WWII. The book was published before the end of the war, and the sense of uncertainty and fatigue is strongly felt by the reader.
Mar 21, 2023
Abigail Moreshead
added it
