A Winter Dreamby Richard Paul Evans
narrated by Fred Berman
Copyright: 2012 Simon & Schuster Audio
Duration: 5 hours, 3 minutes unabridged
Genres: inspirational, Christmas
Filed in: Audiobook Reviews
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PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: From wonderful storyteller and author of the best-selling phenomenon The Christmas Box, a new holiday novel based on the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors.
Joe is forced out of the family business by his jealous siblings. Moving on to another company, he soon becomes chief advisor to the CEO. But when the economy turns, Joe's siblings need his help to save the family business.
Based on the Old Testament story about Joseph and the coat of many colors and including a love story, A Winter Dream can be embraced for its message of forgiveness by believers and nonbelievers alike.
©2012 Richard Paul Evans (P)2012 Simon & Schuster, Inc
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: If you’re not familiar with the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors, it is found in the book of Genesis beginning with chapter 37. Joseph was the second youngest of many sons and was his father’s favorite causing a great deal of jealousy among his brothers. Joseph’s father loved him so much that he gave him a coat of many colors, something of a rarity in those days, making his brothers even more jealous and angry. The jealous brothers devised a plan to sell Joseph into slavery and made it look like he had been devoured by wild animals. In the end, Joseph becomes a great and powerful man in Egypt and saves his family from starvation during a long famine.
A Winter Dream is indeed a modern-day retelling of that story. Joseph is the second youngest of many brothers who all work in their father’s advertising agency. Joseph’s older brothers are jealous of his natural talent for the business as well as the obvious favor their father shows for him. The brothers cunningly devise a way to force Joseph not only out of the business but out of Denver altogether. It is pure and simple blackmail, but done very effectively by the jealous brothers.
I think Richard Paul Evans did a nice job of putting a new spin on a very, very old story. He created situations that are very believable for our day and age and his characters all act and talk like real people. Evans wrote something of a love story into A Winter Dream, which was not present in the original biblical tale, but it was tastefully done and adds a nice element to the story. The end of the story is, I have to admit, a bit on the predictable side, but it was completely satisfying. If you like neat and tidy endings where the hero wins and the bad guys get their comeuppance and all the loose ends are neatly tied up, then you’ll appreciate this one.
Up to now, I had never heard a Fred Berman narration, but I found myself liking him quite a bit. He was a good voice for main character Joseph Jacobson and he did a nice job of providing voices for all the characters and making them unique. All in all it was a job well done for Berman.
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CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:
A Christmas Blizzard by Garrison Keillor (Audiobook Review)
The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado (Audiobook Review)
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (Audiobook Review)
Special thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio for this review copy.
Audiobook review by Steven Brandt.
This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audiobook.
Come back soon for more audiobook reviews from Audiobook-Heaven.
1 comment:
I loved this tale! I could have done without all the he said, she said, but I guess with all the characters, he HAD to use it, often.
May have had a predictable ending but some things throughout were NOT predictable, I was ready for the 'good guy' to win!
Lovely tale and wonderful family wholesome read!
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