Echoes [Import] [Paperback]

Danielle Steel (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Bantam Press (2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0593050207
• ISBN-13: 978-0593050200
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Danielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world's most popular authors, with over 590 million copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include 44 Charles Street, Legacy, Family Ties, Big Girl, Southern Lights, Matters of the Heart, One Day at a Time, 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerfully Moving Story, March 31, 2006

By 

L. Shirley "Laurie's Boomer Views" (Huntington Beach,CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Echoes (Mass Market Paperback)

"Echoes" by Danielle Steel, is a wonderfully moving and emotional story of a family of strong and caring women, who for generations seem destined to 'echo' the trials and triumphs of their predecessors. It is a saga so filled with characters that attracted me to their inner strength, their courage and magnetic charms, and had me living the danger and hardships of their times. There were times I actually found myself with a lump in my throat or my heart beating faster, as they devoted themselves, sometimes putting their lives on the line for what they loved and believed in.

In 1915, as War began to loom, and her brothers were off fighting, Beata Wittgenstein, a young, beautiful, intelligent German Jewish woman, fell in love with a handsome and caring French officer. Both loved their families and their countries, but the love they had for each other had no equal. Defying their parents,their traditions, and being cut out of the families, never to be allowed contact again, they sought comfort in each other's arms and married. Not an easy life, they managed to make a home and life for themselves and their two beautiful daughters. Beata converting to Catholicism for her husband, but never forgetting her own deep roots.

It was years later, when a second World War loomed that she anguished as her family disappeared into the horrible fate awaiting them by the Nazis. As her oldest daughter, Amadea grew into a beautiful woman and had become a nun, it was only then she learned of her ancestry. She too had to suffer in silence as her mother and sister were taken away, and she herself is forced to live in a concentration camp . Amadea would then go on to become a respected member of the French Resistance, doing what was in her power to fight for freedom and to save other lives from being destroyed. She also finds love and must decide between her devotion to God and the man she loves.

It's a story filled with love. But it is much more than a romance novel. It has adventure, danger, and the all too real horrors of war. It is one that will touch you on many levels, and one that will stay with you for quite a while after the read.

This book is also available in a magnifecent audio edition read by Simon Prebble, that also comes with a bonus audio book of "Fine Things", a lovely romantic story, also by Steel(Read by Richard Thomas):Echoes (Danielle Steel)

Here is a LArge Print Edition:Echoes - Large Print Edition

Enjoy the read....Laurie

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lack of Research, October 19, 2006

By 

Juls (Baltimore, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Echoes (Danielle Steel) (Hardcover)

When a reader selects Daniel Steel's book he/she is pretty much aware of what to expect. This is an excellent book, and you know that by wanting to know what happens next in the plot. One major draw back of this book is lack of research by author. She selects a topic and does very little to understand the intricacies of the subject matter.

As few other reviewers noted there are a number of things that would most likely never happened in real life. Example: in the beginning of the book while vacationing in Geneva mother is dining in a restaurant with her daughters. If they were an orthodox family they would follow kashrus and not dine in the hotel's restaurant which was obviously not kosher. And, only few pages after that Beata eats her first "non-kosher" meal when she leaves for Switzerland.

Also, number was never tattooed on her arm. Germans were well known for strict adherence to order and them "missing" her is highly unlikely. No Jewish holidays are celebrated except "High Holiday" Yom Kippur. While, Bearta's family was "orthodox" they all had non-Jewish first names, even though it is possible however but it is highly improbable. There were numerous reference to knowledge of languages, however when referring to Wittgenstein their first language was German, then French and English. This is a major flaw in Steel's research. Wittgenstein' first language would have been Yiddish.

Beata converted and her daughter was Catholic, but according to Jewish law Amadea was Jewish and that was simply ignored in the book and only at the very end Rabbi was present at the wedding ceremony, for what purpose? You do not bring in your rabbi for heritage purposes.

Many more instances could be found throughout the text. Good book but very little research.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ECHOES, January 6, 2006

By 

S. Brown - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Echoes (Mass Market Paperback)

This book was hard to put down. It holds you from the first page. You fall in love with all the characters and feel your heart ache with their sorrows. And am now trying to find one that can compare.