The Bell in the Lake
The Sister Bells, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Roger May
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By:
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Lars Mytting
About this listen
The first in a rich historical trilogy that draws on legend, by a literary craftsman and the author of The Sixteen Trees of the Somme.
Norway, 1880. In the secluded village of Butangen at the end of the valley, headstrong Astrid dreams of a life beyond marriage, hard work and children. And then Pastor Kai Schweigaard comes into her life, taking over the 700-year-old stave church with its carvings of pagan deities.
The two church bells were forged by her forefather in the 16th century in memory of conjoined sisters Halfrid and Gunhild Hekne and are said to have supernatural powers. But now the pastor wants to tear it down, to replace it with a modern, larger church.
Though Astrid is drawn to him, this may be a provocation too far.
Talented architecture student Gerhard Schonauer arrives from Dresden to oversee the removal of the church and its reconstruction in the German city. Everything about elegant Schonauer is so different, so cosmopolitan. Astrid must make a choice: for her homeland and the pastor or for a daunting and uncertain future in Germany.
Then the bells begin to toll....
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- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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A Wayside Tavern tells the story of a Suffolk drinking place from the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, until the present day. The Roman veteran, crippled and left behind, worshipped Mithras, so the place became known as the One Bull and down through the centuries it became a clearing house for contraband, a miniature Hell Fire Club, a fashionable hotel, a mere pub. Across the yard, was the church of St Cerdic, king and martyr, who fought the Danes and was famous for the miracles performed at his shrine.
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An enjoyable tale
- By Gordon on 10-07-11
By: Norah Lofts
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The First Man
- By: Albert Camus
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In The First Man, Albert Camus tells the story of Jacques Cormery, a boy who lived a life much like his own. Camus summons up the sights, sounds, and textures of a childhood circumscribed by poverty and a father's death yet redeemed by the austere beauty of Algeria and the boy's attachment to his nearly deaf-mute mother. The result is a moving journey through the lost landscape of youth that also discloses the wellsprings of Camus's aesthetic powers and moral vision.
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Great Narration by Jefferson Mays
- By Sean Patrick Stevens on 07-31-21
By: Albert Camus
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All for Nothing
- By: Walter Kempowski, Anthea Bell - translator, Jenny Erpenbeck - introduction
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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In East Prussia, January 1945, the German forces are in retreat, and the Red Army is approaching. The von Globig family's manor house, the Georgenhof, is falling into disrepair. Auntie runs the estate as best she can since Eberhard von Globig, a special officer in the German army, went to war, leaving behind his beautiful but vague wife, Katharina, and her bookish 12-year-old son, Peter. As the road fills with Germans fleeing the occupied territories, the Georgenhof begins to receive strange visitors - a Nazi violinist, a dissident painter, a Baltic baron, even a Jewish refugee.
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All for Nothing
- By Lynn on 03-16-19
By: Walter Kempowski, and others
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Fifty-Two Stories
- 1883-1898
- By: Anton Chekhov, Richard Pevear - translator, Larissa Volokhonsky - translator
- Narrated by: Jim Frangione
- Length: 20 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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From the celebrated, award-winning translators of Anna Karenina and War and Peace: a lavish, masterfully rendered volume of stories by one of the most influential short fiction writers of all time.
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Better alternatives for Chekhov
- By Carol V. Macvey on 03-04-21
By: Anton Chekhov, and others
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A Joyful Christmas
- 6 Historical Stories
- By: Cynthia Hickey, Liz Johnson, Vickie McDonough, and others
- Narrated by: Carolyn Molloy
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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A Christmas collection to warm the heart. Grab a warm cup of tea and watch as romance is kindled and joy is restored to broken lives during six bygone-era Christmas celebrations.
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Heartwarming!
- By Smile on 12-16-23
By: Cynthia Hickey, and others
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Winesburg, Ohio
- By: Sherwood Anderson
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Winesburg, Ohio is a little-known masterpiece that forever changed the course of American storytelling. At the center of this collection of stories stands George Willard, an earnest young reporter for the Winesburg Eagle who sets out to gather the town’s daily news. He ends up discovering the town’s deepest secrets as one by one, the townsfolk confide their hopes, dreams, and fears to the reporter. In their recollections of first loves and last rites, of sprawling farms and winding country roads, the town rises vividly - and poignantly - to life.
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Isolation, Loneliness, Love & Midwest Grotesque
- By Darwin8u on 06-27-13
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Doctor Zhivago
- By: Boris Pasternak, Larissa Volokhonsky - translator, Richard Pevear - translator
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 23 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In celebration of the 40th anniversary of its original publication, here is a new translation of the classic story of the life and loves of a poet/physician during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. Taking his family from Moscow to what he hopes will be shelter in the Ural Mountains, Zhivago finds himself instead embroiled in the battle between the Whites and the Reds. Set against this backdrop of cruelty and strife is Zhivago’s love for the tender and beautiful Lara.
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Russian Philosophical Feast
- By Syd Young on 02-16-13
By: Boris Pasternak, and others
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Sons and Lovers
- By: D. H. Lawrence
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Sons and Lovers, D. H. Lawrence's first major novel, was also the first in the English language to explore ordinary working-class life from the inside. No writer before or since has written so well about the intimacies enforced by a tightly knit mining community and by a family where feelings are never hidden for long. When the marriage between Walter Morel and his sensitive, high-minded wife begins to break down, the bitterness of their frustration seeps into their children's lives.
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Momma's Boy (The Dangers of Overbearing Parenting)
- By W Perry Hall on 02-01-14
By: D. H. Lawrence
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Springwater
- By: Linda Lael Miller
- Narrated by: Pilar Witherspoon
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Evangeline Keating came West because she had to: after her husband's passing, she needed to build a new life for her young daughter, and marrying a stranger from Montana Territory was her best chance. After a difficult winter journey, she arrives at an isolated outpost called Springwater Station. But the handsome man who's come for her is not her husband-to-be, and Evangeline soon finds herself thrust into a most inconvenient - and highly improper - arrangement.
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Prolific foul language and graphic descriptions
- By Les Raymond on 03-04-20
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The Ancestor
- A Novel
- By: Danielle Trussoni
- Narrated by: Heather Masters
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
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It feels like a fairy tale when Alberta ”Bert” Monte receives a letter addressed to “Countess Alberta Montebianco” at her Hudson Valley, New York, home that claims she’s inherited a noble title, money, and a castle in Italy. While Bert is more than a little skeptical, the mystery of her aristocratic family’s past, and the chance to escape her stressful life for a luxury holiday in Italy, is too good to pass up.
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Provocative but potential unrealized
- By Natasha Darling on 06-06-20
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The Wapshot Chronicle
- By: John Cheever
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Based in part on Cheever's adolescence in New England, the novel follows the destinies of the impecunious and wildly eccentric Wapshots of St. Botolphs, a quintessential Massachusetts fishing village. Here are the stories of Captain Leander Wapshot, venerable sea dog and would-be suicide; of his licentious older son, Moses; and of Moses' adoring and errant younger brother, Coverly.
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Beautiful 1950s Great Expectations-like Novel
- By Darwin8u on 05-31-13
By: John Cheever
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Greenglass House
- By: Kate Milford
- Narrated by: Chris Henry Coffey
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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It's wintertime at Greenglass House. The creaky smuggler's inn is always quiet during this season, and 12-year-old Milo, the innkeepers' adopted son, plans to spend his holidays relaxing. But on the first icy night of vacation, out of nowhere, the guest bell rings. Then rings again. And again. Soon Milo's home is bursting with odd, secretive guests, each one bearing a strange story that is somehow connected to the rambling old house.
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Thoroughly delightful experience!
- By Lori K. on 02-19-17
By: Kate Milford
What listeners say about The Bell in the Lake
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Laura Coen
- 06-24-23
Wow.
Was not expecting to enjoy this book so much.
Rich characters, setting, historical context. The storyline continued to take unexpected turns. Excellent narration. Want the rest of the trilogy!
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- Andrew
- 07-16-23
Brings to life my heritage:)
Being of Norwegian descent, I had only ever known a few details about my ancestors. I’ve read and enjoyed several other historical fiction books of other cultures, but this was the first piece of fiction about Norway I’d ever read. Especially poignant was that it was set during the time my great great grandparents would have been preparing to leave for America. It its a lovely, thoughtful well written book for anyone to enjoy, Norwegian or otherwise. I also recommend looking up interviews with the author on YouTube etc in both English and Norwegian with English subtitles. Fascinating to hear that the author himself, born and raised in Norway learned so much about Norwegian history while preparing to write this trilogy. He’s a gentle soul and has a lovely spirit.
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- cljhansen
- 09-15-23
Wonderful
What a beautiful story. Narration was excellent. So glad I listened. Can’t wait for book two to be recorded. Thank You!
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- Amy Hammond Hagberg
- 10-31-22
This book is gold!
I first heard about this book on Goodreads when I won an advanced reader copy. Although I have some Swedish blood, my maternal grandparents were Norwegian through-and-through, and it’s because of them I have a love for Norwegian culture. This book was amazing! I especially enjoyed learning about the history of stave churches, an iconic image of old Norway. I did not know many of them had been dismantled and reassembled in continental European countries. If you are Norsk (and even if you’re not), this book is gold! To read more of my reviews, google my name.
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- Ann M.
- 03-08-23
Highly recommend
Beautifully written and lovely narration. Thoroughly enjoyed the journey. New to this author and subject matter.
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- Alan
- 12-04-24
Interesting
It kept me guessing. I look forward to reading the sequel. I have
n’t checked, but I hope it’s the same narrator. He’s very good.
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- Pat Zimbric
- 09-06-23
Pedantic, boring, waste of time. Do not waste a choice on this
Boring, waste of time. Do not spend a cent on this. One of the worst ever chosen. A
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