Odd story

I’m still not sure what the plot was, or if there was even suppose to be a message. One of the stranger books I’ve listened to. It must have been good somewhere though because I had no trouble finishing it. The narration was excellent.

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9 people found this helpful

Changing Times

I enjoyed this look at the shifting lives on a suburban street as 1959 turns to 1960. Not wholly realistic, almost like a dark fairy tale, quite haunting. Narration was good.

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9 people found this helpful

A Small Town Awakening

When Nora Silk moves onto the quiet street of Hemlock Lane, she is immediately cast as an outsider, that divorced woman. No one reaches out to befriend her. No one comes over with a cake to welcome her to the neighborhood. Her son Billy is bulled at school. In a place where everyone and everything, down to how and when they cut the grass, seems the same, reality is about to burst the façade. Hoffman includes only a small dose of mysticism in this story. The boy can hear thoughts, and his mother knows a thing or two about concoctions, but their biggest challenge is to fit into the community. They don't need to change, their neighbors do. Slowly but surely they discover more about themselves and reach out to Nora. She isn't afraid to be herself and show others how to do the same. Hillary Huber is an excellent narrator for this book. I read it before, years ago, and thought it had similar elements to "The Harper Valley PTA." Maybe one inspired the other. Listening to this book was a nice escape from the chaos of the world.

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7 people found this helpful

A more thought provoking book than I thought

It was interesting to read a time when more people followed a strict set of rules about how you were supposed to live your life and how unaccepting and unsympathetic they were of those that didn’t follow the rules. The people they don’t follow the “rules”scare those that do because they make them question why are they following the “rules” that are bringing them so much discontent.

I would have liked this book to go on; I would have liked to know what came next in the characters life.

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6 people found this helpful

very entertaining blast from the past

I really enjoyed this book. it was reminiscent of my childhood. So many details from the early 60s really rang true. I enjoyed the character development, I felt that she really painted a picture of truth for the women in this book.

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6 people found this helpful

Seventh Heaven

As much as I love Alice Hoffman's work, I do not understand the point of this book. It felt like a hodgepodge of ideas that were thrown together and filled in without any purpose.

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4 people found this helpful

Give It Time

Initially my opinion was this audiobook was good, not great...This story is all about the slow, simmer not the boil. AH created an entire world of characters whose stories overlap and entwine and frankly, take time to flesh out. But if you stay with it ( and you will because you paid for it or used your solo, precious monthly token) it'll pay off. If you love fully developed characters and details of worlds that seem so real you could drive there, then AH will not disappoint.

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3 people found this helpful

Count not finish

I really gave this an attempt but I finally gave up and stopped the listening. The story was boring, I really kept hoping the excitement would start but it never did.

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2 people found this helpful

Strange jumble of stories mashed into one

What did you like best about Seventh Heaven? What did you like least?

I liked the theme of women's lives at the end of the 50's and the changes they faced in the 1960's.
What I liked least was the scene with the red shoes..........what?!? It was completely out of place and frankly, just silly.

What could Alice Hoffman have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Stick with one theme! So many themes gave the book no solid direction.

Could you see Seventh Heaven being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No, I can't see it being made into a movie or TV series. Then again, some of the junk on TV now would be a close competitor.

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2 people found this helpful

Held captive … wanted the book to go on and never end.

I was totally immersed in the characters. Ms Hoffmann understands human nature and our most intricate emotions.
I was pleasantly surprised when I began to listen to this book. I didn’t expect this high caliber if writing!

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1 person found this helpful