Susanna Tamaro

Eine Frau schreibt einen Brief an ihr nie gesehenes Kind. Mit 16 Jahren wurde sie in der Nachkriegszeit ungewollt schwanger und ihre Eltern zwangen sie, das Kind wegzugeben. Nach aussen hin wirkt die Erzählerin wie eine starke Frau, selbständig, unabhängig - doch über dieses einschneidende Erlebnis ist sie nie hinweggekommen. Als sie selbst an einem Scheidepunkt ihres Lebens steht, schreibt sie diesen Brief an ihren Sohn, in dem sie ihm erzählt, was damals geschah.
Susanna Tamaro show more erzählt diese Geschichte mit so viel Gefühl, dass es trotz des traurigen Themas ein Genuss ist, sie zui hören. Was sicherlich auch an der Vorleserin Doris Buchrucker liegt, der man die Schmerzen, das Leid aber auch die Liebe in jedem Satz anhört. Auch wenn die Protagonistin tief enttäuscht wurde vom Vater des Kindes, ist es doch ein Kind der Liebe und das vermittelt sie ihrem Sohn in jeder Zeile ihres Briefes.
Tieftraurig, aber wunderschön! show less

What a sweet gem of a story contained in a rather short book. The writing is lyrical and dreamlike. Much wisdom is imparted within each chapter. It begs the reader to ponder their own experiences in relation to those of the Tiger. The story is one of curiosity, wonder, introspection, discovery, fear, trust, solitude, betrayal, love and affection. What does it take to follow your dreams and remain true to yourself?

Such sweetness in a beautiful and touching story for a not so perfect world.

I show more am grateful to author Susanna Tamaro, One World Publications and LibraryThing Early Reviewers for having provided a free uncorrected advance reader's copy of this book. Their generosity, however, did not influence this review - the words of which are mine alone. show less

I received this book as a proof to read and review and how very thankful I am that I did. I doubt I would have picked this one up otherwise and thus would have missed out on an intriguing read. It is a sequel to Tamaro’s previous book titled Follow Your Heart in which an elderly Italian woman writes a letter to her granddaughter for her to read after her death. I haven’t read this book but that fact didn’t in anyway detract from my enjoyment or understanding of Listen to my Voice.
In show more Listen To My Voice we hear the granddaughter, Marta, as she tells her story which is addressed to the memory of her grandmother. Marta went to live and be raised by her grandmother when she was 4 years old. Her gran doesn’t ever tell her about her life before then and thus she knows very little about her parents. Marta believes her father is a Turkish prince and knows that her mother is dead. When Marta’s grandmother dies, she is left alone in the world. After a while she explores the house and discovers a box full of her mother’s belongings in the attic. Marta feels intense anger towards her grandmother for withholding the existence of all these items. The box contains several clues to her past and with the help of her mother’s journal and a faded photograph Marta sets off to track down her father. She feels he may still be alive although she has long since realised he’s not a Turkish prince. Her search takes her to Israel where she finds a member of her mother’s family. She eventually traces her father and makes herself known to him. What follows is unexpected and leads to a very unusual father/daughter relationship.
As Marta went on her trail of self-discovery I found myself seeking the same answers to the questions she was asking, such as why are we here? What purpose do we serve? Can we alter anything for the better? Do we enrich each other’s lives? This is an absorbing read, very philosophical and thought provoking, but also has a melancholy feel to it and at times it pulled me down. It maintains a sense of intrigue throughout though, so I never wanted to stop reading and eagerly devoured each page. Marta seemed to be trudging through a life that was filled with sadness, rejection, joy and regret, without any sense of hope. I came to strongly care about her and truly wanted her to find the answers to her questions. Susanna Tamaro has written a bittersweet, yet heart-warming tale about love, life and the importance of belonging. show less

This book grabbed me from the instant I glanced at its first page, unsure if it was worth the read. It is. Ignore the description on the back of the book and all the catchphrases used on it. They make the book seem worse and more cliched than it is. This book is straightforward -- a grandmother writing a letter to the granddaughter she raised.

I loved the format of the book, because it was so different from something I've read before. It seemed absolutely heartfelt, and despite the general show more sad topic of a grandmother growing more feeble with age, I found the book ultimately uplifting and encouraging.

Give the small time investment in reading this book, I think it's something many people would enjoy. show less