

If You Are There
A Novel
Author: Susan Sherman
Narrator: Kate Reading
Unabridged: 10 hr 2 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Published: 01/10/2017
Categories: Fiction, Literary Fiction
Author: Susan Sherman
Narrator: Kate Reading
Unabridged: 10 hr 2 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Published: 01/10/2017
Categories: Fiction, Literary Fiction
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
“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