Review: The House at Tyneford (Audiobook)

The House at Tyneford (US)/The Novel in the Viola (UK) by Natasha Solomons
Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII
Length: 14 hours and 11 minutes
Narrator: Justine Eyre
Source: eLibrary
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Description:

It's the spring of 1938 and no longer safe to be a Jew in Vienna. Nineteen-year-old Elise Landau is forced to leave her glittering life of parties and champagne to become a parlor maid in England. She arrives at Tyneford, the great house on the bay, where servants polish silver and serve drinks on the lawn. But war is coming, and the world is changing. When the master of Tyneford's young son, Kit, returns home, he and Elise strike up an unlikely friendship that will transform Tyneford-and Elise-forever.

My Rating:

My Review:

Elise's world turns upside down when she must leave everything and everyone she knows and become a parlor made at Tyneford house.  She's homesick for her family and her customs and finds that she does not fit in with the help or with the family of the house.  Elise's journey is one of growth and reflection.

Overall...
I really enjoyed this read but this is not your typical historical fiction or WWII read.  The writing and story reads like classic literature and the setting seems more secondary.  So if you choose books based on the genre, I'd take note.

On the story...
Again, I enjoyed the story and the character development.  The writing stands out above the rest and Ms. Solomons pays great attention to detail without bogging down the story.  There is little focus on the war but there is much tragedy and this is a sad story.  At first I was a little bothered by the romance in this story but upon reflection it did fit.  For the most part, I never really knew where the story was going.  I didn't know if the resolution would be the ending of the war or reuniting (or not) with her family.  Ultimately, it ended up being a coming of age story but it bothered me that I really couldn't tell as I was listening.

On the narrator...
At first I was quite disconnected from Ms. Eyre because I felt Elise sounded too old but then I realized that Elise is telling her story when she is much older and reflecting on her youth.  This realization put the story in perspective and I enjoyed listening.  Ms. Eyre does a fantastic job with the different accents and I really felt like I was there as the story took place.

Read this if you enjoy classic literature or coming of age stories.