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Anna and the Swallow Man

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Anna and the Swallow Man

By: Gavriel Savit
Narrated by: Allan Corduner
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About this listen

Anna and the Swallow Man is a stunning, literary and wholly original debut novel that tells a new WWII story.

Kraków, 1939, is no place to grow up. There are a million marching soldiers and a thousand barking dogs. And Anna Lania is just seven years old when the Germans take her father and suddenly, she’s alone.

Then she meets the Swallow Man. He is a mystery, strange and tall. And, like Anna's missing father, he has a gift for languages: Polish, Russian, German, Yiddish, even Bird. When he summons a bright, beautiful swallow down to his hand to stop her from crying, Anna is entranced.

Over the course of their travels together, Anna and the Swallow Man will dodge bombs, tame soldiers, and even, despite their better judgement, make a friend. But in a world gone mad, everything can prove dangerous....

©2016 Gavriel Savit (P)2016 Random House AudioBooks Historical Fiction History & Culture Literature & Fiction Fiction Young Adult

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This is a heart warming, gut wrenching, thought provoking book. It deserves many accolades. If you read only one book about WW 2, make sure it is this one.

Beautifully read by allun corduner

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This is a literary novel, beautifully written and narrated and well worth a listen even if you are far removed from the labelled 'Young Adult' audience. C.S. Lewis wrote, 'No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally – and often far more – worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.” And, of that, Anna and the Swallow Man is a perfect example; I expect most adult readers will take more away, read more into the subtlety of this story and its characters, than most of the YA genre's intended age group.

If the summary and sample at all grab you, I'd recommend the listen. I know it'll be on my re-read/re-listen list in the future.

Nuanced literary novel, don't let the YA tag deter

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I’m not sure what age audience this book was written for, maybe it was written to be read by older teenagers, up to adults. I am in my sixties and I have to say that I really enjoyed listening to every single word and I can’t say that about anything else I have ever read, apart perhaps from when reading poetry. Words are used in a very beautiful way in this gripping novel. The mystery surrounding the actual story continues throughout, making you want to keep listening. I believe the book could be interpreted on many levels and could become a classic.

I’ve never read anything quite like this, a new genre?

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