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  • A View Across the Rooftops

  • Written by: Suzanne Kelman
  • Narrated by: Alan Medcroft
  • Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (149 ratings)

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A View Across the Rooftops

Written by: Suzanne Kelman
Narrated by: Alan Medcroft
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Publisher's Summary

Would you risk your life to save just one person?

An incredible story of love, hope, and friendship; and a testament to humanity and courage in history’s darkest days.

1941, Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. Professor Josef Held has never recovered from the loss of his beloved wife - and has no intention of ever letting anyone new into his quiet, safe world. It is a world where the clock ticks steadily in his mathematics classroom, where every equation has a solution. Every day he walks the same route home, past his neighbour Mrs Epstein’s, to a home inhabited only by him and a cat he refuses to even name.

But then the Nazis come for the Jews - and Mrs Epstein is killed. And Josef, in an impulsive act of courage, offers his student Michael Blum a place to hide.

Michael is everything Josef is not: spontaneous, poetic, and unafraid to love. Even though his passionate relationship with a Dutch girl called Elke strictly is forbidden by the Nazis - for he is Jewish, and she is not.

Desperate to give Michael and Elke’s love a chance to survive, Josef gives Michael refuge in his attic: an act of bravery and resistance that will change both of their lives. But as the dark days of war continue, with danger and betrayal at every turn, no-one can be trusted, and no one is safe.

If Michael is going to get back to the woman he loves, it is down to Josef - to find the hero inside himself, and do whatever it takes to keep Michael alive.

A heartbreakingly beautiful story about love, trust, and courage against the odds, perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Lilac Girls, and The Nightingale.

©2019 Suzanne Kelman (P)2019 Bookouture

What listeners say about A View Across the Rooftops

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    1 out of 5 stars

No!

This is too much like a cheap Harlequin romance story. At least in the first few chapters that’s what it seems. I don’t want to risk listening to more to see if it gets better, because I was told that if I listen extensively, I cannot return this to Audible.

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9 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful story, bizarre voice performance

This story is beautiful and enthralling; however, the choice for only one male performer didn’t work for me. Having a male narrator depicting a female character’s thoughts in a sexual assault and the other female characters in their most vulnerable (I.e. the voice of Eva) was unusual and didn’t work at all. Having a male and female narrator would have been much more effective.

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gripping Story

I loved everything about this book, the writing was superb and the narrator was just excellent, a perfect match from narrator to story.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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recommend

gripping story I could not stop listening to it. If you like All the Stories We Could Not Tell. or The Huntress I think you will enjoy this also.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Wow!

I loved this book. This book is right up there with, 'We were the lucky ones,' by Georgia Hunter, 'The Nightingale' by Kristin Hannah and 'Lilac Girls' by Martha Hall Kelly. I added these books as I found out about 'A view Across the Rooftops' from a review that someone wrote on a different book. I read the Audible.com reviews as well as the Audible.ca reviews.

I enjoyed the narrator and the characters and their story in the book. It usually takes me a while to get through an audio book as I tend to listen when driving, or working on different project so I generally listen for a couple hours at a time. I put on my headphones and listened to this book over two days and thoroughly enjoyed it.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A captivating story

compelling story of the lives of ordinary Dutch in extraordinary circumstances. Keen insights into human responses to loss. enjoyed it very much.

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1 person found this helpful

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OUTSTANDING

Best book I've ever read. It warmed my heart, it is emotionally charged, it has hope, love, and tragedy. The horror of that time can never be forgotten and needs to be told again and again, so we never forget the atrocities that were committed or the bravery of so many.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Incredible!

What an amazing story. Ms. Kelman weaves history and fiction together to make a fascinating tapestry. She creates a story with fallible characters, sharp prose, and exquisite detail. If you have any interest in History, this is your book. If you love great storytelling, this is your book. I highly recommend you read this book! Fantastic!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Captivating

Right from the start I felt like I was watching a very engaging movie. The writers descriptions literally make you "see" the story unfolding. The story was so captivating, both my husband and I enjoyed listening to this audio book on our road trip.
I've never listened to this author before, but guaranteed I will look for more book by this writer. Excellent book, would highly recommend it to any one. I feel like it is even a family friendly read/listen

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

Excellent!

This is a very interesting and moving story, but in many instances very predictable. The characters are mostly believable, even though they are sometimes too perfect. The horror of the war was intermingled with the courage, betrayal and love stories. I had enjoyed listening the book..

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