Audiobook10 hours
Train to Trieste
Written by Domnica Radulescu
Narrated by Yelena Shmulenson
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
The lyrical story of a young woman's journey from the totalitarianism of Eastern Europe to the freedom of America, told by an author who knows first-hand about living in a cruel and absurd dictatorship.
It's the summer of 1977, and seventeen-year-old Mona is madly in love. Visiting her aunt's village at the foot of the misty Carpathian mountains, all she can think about is the mysterious, handsome Mihai, the woods where they linger, his deep green eyes, and his cool, starched sheets.
Romania is in the early years of the repressive Ceausescu regime. One day Mona sees Mihai wearing the black leather jacket favored by the secret police. Could he be one of them?
As food shortages worsen, paranoia grows, and more of her loved ones disappear in "accidents," Mona realizes she must leave her country. She makes a daring escape to America without saying goodbye to Mihai. In Chicago, she becomes a doctoral student, marries, has children, and tries to bury her longing for the past-until she feels compelled to return home and learn the truth about her one great love.
It's the summer of 1977, and seventeen-year-old Mona is madly in love. Visiting her aunt's village at the foot of the misty Carpathian mountains, all she can think about is the mysterious, handsome Mihai, the woods where they linger, his deep green eyes, and his cool, starched sheets.
Romania is in the early years of the repressive Ceausescu regime. One day Mona sees Mihai wearing the black leather jacket favored by the secret police. Could he be one of them?
As food shortages worsen, paranoia grows, and more of her loved ones disappear in "accidents," Mona realizes she must leave her country. She makes a daring escape to America without saying goodbye to Mihai. In Chicago, she becomes a doctoral student, marries, has children, and tries to bury her longing for the past-until she feels compelled to return home and learn the truth about her one great love.
Related to Train to Trieste
Related audiobooks
A Castle in Romagna Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Black Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Out of Air Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Luminous Future: Growing up in Transylvania in the Shadow of Communism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fourth Courier Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lost Pilots: The Spectacular Rise and Scandalous Fall of Aviation's Golden Couple Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeyond the Secret Garden: The Life of Frances Hodgson Burnett Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Borgias' Spy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKidnapped Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dead Letter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Russian Riddle:: Stalin's Deadly Date with Destiny Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Whale Tooth (Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCave Dwellers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Literary Treasures: Great Short Stories by Acclaimed Writers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Passage to India (Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Blue: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Portrait of a Conspiracy: Da Vinci's Disciples Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHardacre Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5In Yeddo Bay Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Letters of Two Brides Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mysterious Strangler Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe House of the Seven Gables Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Best Polish Restaurant in Buffalo Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Broad Highway: A Romance of Kent Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRip Van Winkle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Stonehenge Legacy Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Last Paradise Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Washington Square Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Red Poppies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Room in the Dragon Volant Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
General Fiction For You
A Court of Wings and Ruin Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Court of Frost and Starlight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Court of Mist and Fury Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Court of Thorns and Roses Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Man Called Ove: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bell Jar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Omens: A Full Cast Production Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5And Then There Were None Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hunger Games Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Alchemist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Ends with Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Gods [TV Tie-In]: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dutch House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Name of the Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Return of the King Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Me: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fight Club Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Their Eyes Were Watching God Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stardust: The Gift Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/511/22/63: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Train to Trieste
Rating: 3.419354741935484 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
31 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beautifully written and emotionally engaging.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Train to Trieste follows the life of Mona Manoliu starting when she is a teenager in Romania during the reign of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Times are hard, there are food shortages and restrictions everywhere, and people live in fear and suspicion. However, life goes on, and in the midst of the fear and deprivation Mona falls in love for the first time with a mysterious boy named Mihai. When Mona's family begins to die in improbable accidents she flees Romania for safety. Years later she is living in America, trying to forget her past and build a new life. But she can't forget Mihai, her first love, and the summer she left him behind. She returns to Romania determined to learn the truth of what happened the summer she left. This book is a nice addition to the many historical fiction books that have become so popular. It gives a clear accounting of what happened in Romania in the late 1970's under Ceausescu and how it affected the lives of ordinary people. The story is beautifully and poetically written. Unfortunately the plot is a bit slow and its easy to lose interest in Mona's plight. I listened to this book on audio, read by Yelena Shmulenson and her thick Yiddish accent definitely adds a lot of atmosphere to the story.