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The Things We Cannot Say

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The Things We Cannot Say

By: Kelly Rimmer
Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon, Nancy Peterson
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About this listen

Now a New York Times best seller!

From the author of Truths I Never Told You, Before I Let You Go, and the upcoming The Warsaw Orphan, Kelly Rimmer’s powerful WWII novel follows a woman’s urgent search for answers to a family mystery that uncovers truths about herself that she never expected.

"Kelly Rimmer has outdone herself. I thought that Before I Let You Go was one of the best novels I had ever read.... If you only have time to read one book this year The Things We Cannot Say should be that book. Keep tissues handy." (Fresh Fiction)

"Fans of The Nightingale and Lilac Girls will adore The Things We Cannot Say." (Pam Jenoff, New York Times best-selling author)

In 1942, Europe remains in the relentless grip of war. Just beyond the tents of the Russian refugee camp she calls home, a young woman speaks her wedding vows. It’s a decision that will alter her destiny...and it’s a lie that will remain buried until the next century.

Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz. Now 15 and engaged, Alina is unconcerned by reports of Nazi soldiers at the Polish border, believing her neighbors that they pose no real threat, and dreams instead of the day Tomasz returns from college in Warsaw so they can be married. But little by little, injustice by brutal injustice, the Nazi occupation takes hold, and Alina’s tiny rural village, its families, are divided by fear and hate. Then, as the fabric of their lives is slowly picked apart, Tomasz disappears. Where Alina used to measure time between visits from her beloved, now, she measures the spaces between hope and despair, waiting for word from Tomasz and avoiding the attentions of the soldiers who patrol her parents’ farm. But for now, even deafening silence is preferable to grief.

Slipping between Nazi-occupied Poland and the frenetic pace of modern life, Kelly Rimmer creates an emotional and finely wrought narrative. The Things We Cannot Say is an unshakable reminder of the devastation when truth is silenced...and how it can take a lifetime to find our voice before we learn to trust it.

Don't miss Kelly Rimmer's new and unforgettable novel, The Warsaw Orphan.

©2019 Kelly Rimmer (P)2019 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited
Family Life Fiction Friendship Historical Fiction Jewish Women's Fiction Village Solider War Thought-Provoking Romance Mystery Polish History Ireland Historical Fiction True Crime Mystery
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What listeners say about The Things We Cannot Say

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Had me Hooked

Listened to this so fast, thought it was really good and i actually thought the performances where good! Loved the change between the two voices and could easily follow the many characters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great story and narration

This story had me gripped from the start. Loved the characters and despite being a heartbreaking story would highly recommend

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story ruined by a terrible narrator

The story was heart breaking, but also interesting and fun and pretty much a rollercoaster of emotions.

It’s really sad that the narrator was too lazy to learn basic pronunciation of the few polish words that the author included in the book. I guess some people just do the bare minimum and do not try to get it right.

It’s probably heart breaking for the author too, as there is no point including the polish words for someone to butcher them. It would be better to just keep the entire story in English, without the jarring errors.

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

mixed feelings

I found this book heartbreaking when Alina is speaking and narrating her story but I found the juxtaposition of Alice's narration very strained. I understand why the author did it but I found it rather contrived as a device to narrate the story. The dialogue between Alice and Wade and Alice's inner dialogue is exasperating and Giulietta is very one dimensional. The author's description of Alice, her mother and father is completely lacking and I just found everything to do with Alice intensely annoying.
As a result of the contrived device of linking the 2 stories, I really began to feel that Alina 's story would have been better told as a stand alone story but then it would have been a very slim novel. Perhaps the novel would have been improved by fleshing out Emilia 's story and even making more of what happened to Alina's parents and her brothers and sister. I feel by including those details the story would have been more impactful from an historical point of view. Also, it seems unlikely that as Alina waits & waits over the years for Tomaz and her failed attempts at writing to Emilia, she might realistically have tried to use the many organisations set up for reuniting displaced/separated families such as the Red Cross and the IRO (International Refugee Organisation).
This book conveys an extremely personal and heartbreaking story but, to my mind, it could have been written in a much more effective and less contrived way and been far more impactful as a result.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Great narration

The narration of this book to start was excellent. A captivated photographer drawn into a complicated story loses his way and possibly more

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compelling

every emotion possible in one story of love suffering humanity and great sorrow
a family seceret investigated with respect and dignity giving peace

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Overly American, overly sentimental, obvious plot

So very American, very self indulgent, navel gazing and self serving, “look at us, aren’t we great” - and very over sentimentalised when dealing with such an horrific period in human history. Also an obvious plot, with unlikeable characters who would never have spoken like that during wartime. Worst war fiction I’ve ever waded through. Capitalising on some of the most tragic parts of our European history. Only good snippets were more realistic depiction of living with a child on the autism spectrum. But this still had to come with the same nauseating “check us out, aren’t we amazing for dealing with this” tone.

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