Melding history and fantasy in fiction can be tricky, but Stiefvater deftly pulls off this particular magic ... While the plot has its predictable aspects, they’re a secondary consideration when we’re so enthralled ... Stiefvater’s prose...is as pungent as the sweetwater, with a snap that suggests the whimsy of a veteran storyteller. Sometimes it’s a bit over the top ... But mostly it’s just right, shifting from a humorous to an elegiac mode without missing a beat.
The Listeners, like all best novels, defies easy compartmentalization ... Listening, at all times, is a vividly drawn protagonist, June Hudson ... We are led both to contend with and understand the complexities of the human heart.
Stiefvater has brought her magical prose with her to her first adult novel ... Humanizing and detail-oriented, The Listeners is a story about both people management and self-regulation ... It was well-researched and tactful, handling dark issues with sensitivity and embedding colorful detail onto each page.
The book feels epic, and the characters and storylines bob and weave until the stunning conclusion. Highly recommended for fans of engrossing WWII-set fiction.
Asks the reader to see a familiar time period from a new angle, and notice the variety of ways lives can be upended by the war. It’s dramatic, swift-paced and compelling, with a delightful mix of realism and enchanting what-if.
