ECHOES and FINE THINGS

Beata Wittgenstein, a German Jew, meets Antoine, a French Catholic, in Switzerland during WWI. They fall in love, marry, are disowned by both their families, and create a life with children and happiness--until Antoine dies and the Nazis rise to power. As victims are swept into the killing machine, Simon Prebble's soft inflections bring Beata's story to life as she first hides her religion and then is forced to face it when the Nazis take her and her daughter away. Beata's other daughter, Amadea, a nun, is captured and then escapes to fight with the French Resistance and the British Allies. As always, Steel's novels bring a silver lining to difficult situations. Prebble draws the listener into the story and the characters. Included as a bonus is Steel's 1992 audiobook FINE THINGS, which follows Bernard Fine's life and his search for the perfect woman. Richard Thomas reads with tenderness and feeling, endowing characters with a passion for life and the beauty within. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE/JULY 05]