If You Are There, Susan Sherman
If You Are There, Susan Sherman
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If You Are There
A Novel

Author: Susan Sherman

Narrator: Kate Reading

Unabridged: 10 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/10/2017

Synopsis

Set in the early 1900s, the novel follows young Lucia Rutkowska who, thanks to the influence of her beloved grandmother, escapes the Warsaw ghetto to work as a kitchen maid in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the bustling city of Paris. Too talented for her lowly position, Lucia is thrown out on the street. Her only recourse is to take a job working for a married couple—two disorganized, rather poor scientists so distracted by their work that their house and young child are often neglected. Lucia soon bonds with her eccentric employers, watching as their work with radioactive materials grows increasing noticed by the world, then rising to fame as the great Marie and Pierre Curie.Soon all of Paris is alight with the news of an impending visit from Eusapia Palladino, the world’s most famous medium. It is through her now famous employers that Lucia attends Eusapia’s gatherings and eventually falls under the medium’s spell, leaving the Curie household to travel with Palladino to Italy. Ultimately, Lucia is placed directly in the crosshairs of faith versus science. What is more real, the glowing substances of the Curie laboratory or the glowing visions that surround the medium during her séance?

About Susan Sherman

Susan Sherman is the author of If You Were There and of the acclaimed novel The Little Russian, which was a “Great New Reads” pick by People magazine and named by Publishers Weekly as one of the best books of 2014. She is the former chairperson of the art department at Whittier College in California and the co-creator of That’s So Raven on the Disney Network.

About Kate Reading

Kate Reading, named an AudioFile Golden Voice, has recorded hundreds of audiobooks across many genres, over a thirty–year plus career and won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. Among other awards, she has been recognized as an AudioFile Magazine Voice of the Century, Narrator of the Year, Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and winner of an Publisher’s Weekly’s Listen-Up Award. She records at her home studio, Madison Productions, Inc., in Maryland.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Charlene on March 30, 2019

I really enjoyed the fictional character as a way to tell the story of the Curies. However, even though dry biographies of Marie and Pierre have been done ad nauseam, I am having trouble finding a good historical fiction novel that uses the Curie's as main characters. For that matter, I am having tr......more

Goodreads review by Carolyn on February 11, 2017

This was a thoroughly enjoyable book. It was fascinating to read about this time and topic. Lucia Rutkowska leaves poverty and Warsaw Poland. Upon arriving in Paris she finds work in a kitchen. When the Cook becomes jealous, she is forced to find other employment. She works for the Curie's, two very......more

Goodreads review by Jeff on September 30, 2017

Loved this novel. Sherman's writing draws you into Lucia's world, painted on a gorgeously rendered backdrop of early 20th century europe. It made me consider how rational, yet imperfect people --Lucia and the Curries -- struggle to distinguish fantasy with reality. Is Eusapia Palladino's performance......more

Goodreads review by Shelly on July 05, 2017

This book is gorgeous! The writing is mesmerizing and sweeps you away to Belle Epoque of Paris. A young Polish girl becomes the cook for the eccentric Curies, scientists on the verge of greatness, and becomes drawn into the mysterious world of seances and spiritualism, much like the Curies themselve......more

Goodreads review by Nissa on March 03, 2018

I loved everything about this book. A page turner with great characters set in an exotic time and place. Highly recommend if you like reading historical fiction. I won a free paperback copy of this book in a goodreads giveaway.......more

Quotes

“Challenging and yet unpretentious, complex, deliberate, and wholly, completely original…Susan Sherman writes with a fundamental empathy for life as it is lived.” Jill Alexander Essbaum, New York Times bestselling author

“Sherman has created a sympathetic protagonist whose belief in cosmic signs, scientific discovery, and the interconnectedness of humankind is nothing short of magical.” Vanessa Diffenbaugh, New York Times bestselling author

“As scientific as it is magical and as magical as it is scientific.” Karen Joy Fowler, PEN/Falkner Award–winning author

“Readers interested in the Curies, in the tense interplay of faith, showmanship, and science, and the vibrant expatriate world of twentieth-century Europe will enjoy this latest offering by Susan Sherman.” History Novel Society

“Sherman’s tale is a feast of detail and description…Evocative.” Kirkus Reviews

“Encompasses a wide range of subjects and characters…The bold, incandescent descriptions of séances are where Sherman’s art truly shines.” Booklist

“Narrator Kate Reading is at her best in this audiobook, capturing diverse voices and accents, dramatic exchanges, and lush descriptions with her regal voice and confident delivery…Reading moves through the detailed imagery and terminology of Sherman’s research with ease.” AudioFile

“This splendid novel is about discovery, in its many forms: in science, in love, in ambition, in connection; it celebrates the intersection of the natural world and faith…Unforgettable.” Karen E. Bender, finalist for the National Book Award

“Lush with the landmarks of turn of the century Paris…Susan Sherman’s beautiful novel If You Are There provides one pleasure after another, and I couldn’t put it down.” Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen, longlisted for the National Book Award

Awards

  • Library Journal Audio-in-Advance Pick
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