Echoes Pdf Summary
For the Wittgenstein family, the summer of 1915 was a time of both prosperity and unease, as the guns of war sound in the distance. But for eldest daughter Beata, it was also a summer awakening. By glimmering Lake Geneva, the quiet Jewish beauty met a young French officer and fell in love. Knowing that her parents would never accept her marriage to a Catholic, Beata followed her heart anyway. As the two built a new life together, Beata’s past would stay with her in ways she could never have predicted. For as the years pass, and Europe is once again engulfed in war, Beata must watch in horror as Hitler’s terror threatens her life and family–even her eighteen-year-old daughter Amadea, who has taken on the vows of a Carmelite nun.
For Amadea, the convent is no refuge. As family and friends are swept away without a trace, Amadea is forced in hiding. Thus begins a harrowing journey of survival, as she escapes into the heart of the French Resistance. Here Amadea will find a renewed sense of purpose, taking on the most daring missions behind enemy lines. And it is here, in the darkest moments of fear, that Amadea will feel her mother’s loving strength–and that of her mother’s mother before her–as the voices of lost loved once echo powerfully in her heart. And here, amid the fires of war, Amadea will meet an extraordinary man, British secret agent Rupert Montgomery. In Colonel Montgomery, Amadea finds a man who will help her discover her place in an unbreakable chain between generations… and between her lost family and her dreams for the future–a future she is only just beginning to imagine: a future of hope rooted in the rich soil of the past.
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Echoes Review
Crunchy Anti-Vaccine Socialist Xennial Hippie
VINE VOICE
4.0 out of 5 stars GREAT Danielle Steel Novel — But I HATE How Selfish Amadea Is to Her Sister & Especially Her Mother!
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2020
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In all honesty, I should preface this review by admitting that I am a HUGE & AVID Danielle Steel fan!
I have read NUMEROUS Danielle Steel books (too many now to count!) and with a couple exceptions, like Until the End of Time (which I did NOT really like at all, or even HATED!), out of the dozens, I’ve read, I’ve LOVED or at least liked, EVERY SINGLE ONE — and that includes Echoes !
From the blurb on the inside back cover of the book:
For the Wittgenstein family, the summer of 1915 was a time of both prosperity and unease, as the guns of war sound in the distance. But for eldest daughter, Beata, it was a time of awakening. By glimmering Lake Geneva, the quiet Jewish beauty met a young French officer and fell in love. Knowing that her parents would never accept her marriage to a Catholic, Beata followed her heart anyway. As the two built a new life together, Beata’s past would stay with her, and when Europe faces war once again, Beata must watch in horror as Hitler’s terror threatens her family — even her daughter Amadea, who has taken on the vows of a Carmelite nun.
As family and friends are swept away without a trace, Amadea is forced into hiding. Thus begins a harrowing journey of survival, first in the Nazi death camps, and then as she escapes into the heart of the French Resistance and finds a renewed sense of purpose. In the darkest moments of fear, Amadea will feel her mother’s loving strength as the voices of lost loved ones echo powerfully in her life. She will meet an extraordinary man, British secret agent Rupert Montgomery, who will help her discover her place in an unbreakable chain between generations…………..and between her lost family and her future.
From the elegant rituals of Europe’s pre-war aristocracy to the brutal desperation of Germany’s death camps, Danielle Steel draws us into a vanished world, weaving an intricate tapestry of a mother’s love, a daughter’s courage……..and the unwavering faith that sustained them — even in history’s darkest hour.
The first few times I read Echoes , I LOVED it, and would have unquestioningly given it 5 stars. However, after re-reading it this last time (I often re-read books I love, multiple times, both for the enjoyment of it, as well as to see if there are new things to discover that might have been inadvertently missed in previous readings) I have dropped the rating to 4 stars for 2 reasons:
1.) Because the more I read/thought about it, I HATE how selfish and self-absorbed Amadea was when it came to the decision of joining the Carmelite order. Even the timing she chose for joining was so heartless. Especially with everything that was going on in the world, at the time, as well as everything her mother (and sister) had been through, as recently as just a month earlier, and leaving them to basically fend for themselves with no protection. Not that Amadea would have been able to protect them from/against whatever happened, but at least her mother and sister would have had those precious years to spend together before whatever happened, happened!
So, especially given how Danielle Steel emphasized the fact that Daphne was essentially Amadea’s baby, especially after what happened to Antoine (and by extension Beata), it made me really mad that Amadea was so willing to just abandon Daphne to join the cloistered Carmelite order, so adamant that it was her vocation…………..and then yet, still be so willing to consider throwing all that away over the man (or men, actually) she met during the war, like Jean-Yves, and Rupert.
2.) Because I did NOT like the fact that Danielle Steel did NOT offer ANY closure to the storyline/fate of Beata, Daphne, any of Beata’s family (Jacob, Brigitte, Horst, Ulm, their spouses & their kids) or even Nicolas & Armand de Vallerand. Although I get that, with everything the Nazis did, people often disappeared during the war and were never seen again, and nobody ever knew for sure what happened or what became of them. Instead they just assumed those people died in the Holocaust but never getting/having confirmation, nevertheless, in this case, I still would have really liked to find out what happened. At least to Beata and Daphne, if not the others.
Of course, given that the Nazis usually sent those under the age of 16 and over the age of 45 directly to the gas chambers (because they considered them too young/old to work and just “useless eaters”) chances are Beata wouldn’t have survived since she was 45 or 46 at the time she was taken, and after everything she’d been through, she looked even older than her age. But Daphne was 16 and still very beautiful, and she might have managed to get through the war & Holocaust, alive — and I wish that Danielle Steel had included something that gave some idea of what eventually happened to her, Beata & the others rather than ending the book with tons of “cliffhangers”.
Because if the author’s goal was to show how so many people just “vanished without a trace” during the war, she could have easily accomplished that with some or even ALL of Beata’s family (Jacob, Brigitte, Horst, Ulm and their spouses & kids) or even Beata herself, if necessary.
But to leave the ultimate fate of pretty much EVERY SINGLE PERSON that Beata and/or Amadea knew before the war (including even the Daubignys!) unresolved, is just too cruel to curious & loyal readers, like myself! 😜
I mean, I remember reading somewhere that Danielle Steel deliberately NEVER writes sequels for ANY of her novels, despite that, in my opinion, Echoes is one of the few (of the dozens or so I’ve read) of her novels that, literally BEGS for a sequel — or at least an epilogue!
I don’t know about anyone else who read this novel, but personally I’ve been DYING of suspense to know whether or not Beata, Daphne & the others made it through the war/Holocaust safely or at the very least, still alive, as well as other questions. Like, for example, were the Daubignys ever penalized for sheltering Amadea — or did Amadea’s lie/ruse protect THEM, at least? Also did Nicolas & Armand ever get caught for their Resistance activities? Did Amadea reunite with them after the war? And in the unlikely chance Beata survived the war/Holocaust, were she & Nicolas (and Armand) able to reconcile? Also, though obviously, being in Switzerland (and Christian!), they were safe from the Nazis, I’m still curious to find out what happened to Maria and Walther Zuber? Last but not least, what happened with Amadea after the war, beyond what was said in the book? How many (if any!) of the “kinders” reunited with their own parents or families/relatives and how many stayed with them? Did Amadea ever have children of her own?
So many cliffhangers, unanswered questions & no closure are one of the two reasons why I ended up giving this book 4 stars instead of the 5 stars that I would have otherwise given this book the first few times I’d read it. But other than that and hating the way that Amadea acted towards her mother & sister before (and about!) joining the Carmelites, I LOVED Danielle Steel’s novel, Echoes !!!
5.0 out of 5 stars A journey
Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2022
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Danielle Steel takes us on a journey with the characters. Experiencing fear, joy, tension and relief as they live not through one war but two. Leaving us with gratitude for being safe and having a great story to read.
About Danielle Steel Author Of Echoes pdf Book
Danielle Steel Author Of Echoes pdf Book has been hailed as one of the world’s bestselling authors, with almost a billion copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include All That Glitters, Royal, Daddy’s Girls, The Wedding Dress, The Numbers Game, Moral Compass, Spy, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina’s life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Expect a Miracle, a book of her favorite quotations for inspiration and comfort; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children’s books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood.
Echoes pdf, Paperback, Hardcover Book Information
- Publisher : Delacorte Press; First Printing edition (October 26, 2004)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 336 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0385336349
- ISBN-13 : 978-0385336345
- Item Weight : 1.45 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.75 x 1.75 x 9.75 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #423,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5,001 in Family Saga Fiction
- #11,542 in Contemporary Women Fiction
- #43,893 in Contemporary Romance (Books)
- Customer Reviews: 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,640 ratings
Get A Copy Of Echoes pdf Or Paperback By Danielle Steel
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