Audiobook13 hours
The Hidden Letters of Velta B
Written by Gina Ochsner
Narrated by Hillary Huber
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
Young Maris has been summoned to his mother's bedside as she nears the end of her life; she feels she must tell him her version of their family history, the story of his early life, and the ways in which he changed the lives of others. Maris was born with what some might call a blessing and others might deem a curse: his very large, very special ears enable him to hear the secrets of the dead, as well as the memories that haunt his Latvian hometown. Nestled in the woodlands on the banks of the Aiviekste River, their town suffered the ravages of war, then the cold shock of independence. As a boy, Maris found himself heir to an odd assortment of hidden letters; a school project provided the chance to share them, forcing the town to hear the truth from the past and face what it meant for their future.#160;#160;#160;With quot;luminous writing [and] affection for her charactersquot; (New York Times), Gina Ochsner creates an intimate, hopeful portrait of a fascinating town in all its complications and charm. She shows us how, despite years of distrust, a community can come through love and loss to the joy of understanding-enabled by a great-grandmother's legacy, a flood, and a boy with very special ears.
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Reviews for The Hidden Letters of Velta B
Rating: 3.4 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
5 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inara, a dying mother in her last days, shares stories with her son Maris, of their family and the people who live in their small Latvian town. Memories dug up like the plots in the cemetery her family has been caretaking, are laid out to be deciphered along with hidden letters her grandmother Velta wrote to her grandfather during WWII after the Soviets invaded their small town and incarcerated him. Maris is an unusual young man; he has huge ears and can hear things others can’t. His mind is extremely creative and he helps his mother understand the letters that she found hidden years before: but the messages they hold will change their town.This book is like a piece of art, intricate full of depth and an interestingly written mystery. It did take me awhile to get into the tone of the story. Its murkiness seeped through every page, almost like a gothic fairy tale set in a dark forest and yet it’s starts in current time. I may have to go back and read it again; because there are things I missed the first time through. Gina’s characters are intriguing and not all they appear to be on the surface. Definite 4 stars.