Carole, Reanimated

If you could sum up Fireball in three words, what would they be?

Researched; Personal; Gripping

What does Tavia Gilbert bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Ms.Gilbert does read with enthusiasm.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I appreciated that Mr. Matzen fleshed out some peripheral players in the lives of Lombard and also Gable.

Any additional comments?

I've always felt I knew Carole; now I feel I know her better.

9 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Great Story, Terrible Narration

This a fantastic book! I have always wondered about the crash of TWA Flight 3 and this book answers those questions. While the focus is on Carole Lombard the other crash victims are not forgotten. My only complaint is the narration. Oh my. It is read in an over the top, melodramatic manner to the point of being annoying. If the story had not held my interest so deeply I would have returned it because of the narration and bought the hard copy. Overall, well written and a tribute to the lives of those affected by this tragedy.

7 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Sad, but wonderfully written

I'm a big fan of Carole Lombard and I'd read this in hardcover when it first came out and thought that it was very good. I still think that it's very well written AND now I also feel that the narrator made it even better. She read it with the proper amount and placement of emotion (not overly, but not flat either).

This is not just about Carole Lombard though, it's about her mother and Otto Winkler, and the service men and flight crew all of whom also died in that crash.

It's a great reminder (I think anyway) to lead a good life, love and appreciate your loved ones, have good fun..and don't make important decisions based on emotion...and listen to other people who also have a part in your decision making and understand their feelings.

Highly recommend it!

4 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Narrator over dramatic

Wonderful story that answers multiple questions. But the narration almost kills the book. Her voice is lovely, but tone down the drama, please! I wasn’t impressed by the over the top hysterics. It made listening difficult. Otherwise perfect voice for narration.

4 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Haunting

Hard to believe so long has passed and how touching this story. I really would have loved to get to know the"fireball" Carol Lombard. She really packed a lot of living into a short time!

4 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Great book great narration

Very good and interesting; read the book a few years ago and just listened to it; very good!!

2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Heartbreaking story with obnoxious narrator

This was probably the most beautifully written tragic story I've ever read. I think it would have fared even better with a better Narrator. Tavia what's her face is no Grace Conlin and her over the top dramatic recitation bordered on obnoxious "oooh no! Dear! sweet! Carole is... G-g-g-ONE!!" (Rolls eyes) the story was tragic enough and did not need Tavia's over the top Mary Pickford style of acting.

Anyway I wish I had read the book on my own because I don't think I will be able to revisit this title. It was just too heartbreaking, those people did not deserve to die in such a tragic way. Oh well I pray they are all at peace.

Off to find something cheery to read to...

2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Maudlin writing, overly melodramatic narration

Interesting subject matter, but my eyes ache from rolling them so hard (and constantly) during this book. The incessant interpolation of Gable's imagined "thoughts", the ridiculous, over the top flights of hagiography of Lombard, the constant cheeseball narrative diversions (the extended and excruciating side story about the farmboy meeting his flyboy hero being a particularly egregious example of nauseating glurge) were almost unbearable.

1 persona l'ha trovata utile

Heartbreaking

This book has reignited my interest in Clark and Carole. It was heartbreaking to read about their love story and how it ended in detail. The book brought them back to life and made them more real than anything else I’ve read about them. It could also be that my interest in them started when I was a young teenager and reading about them back them was different than reading about them now, aged 57. Quite a different perspective. I also liked that the other passengers’ stories were told. All in all it brought the tragic crash to life and my heart ached for all involved.

1 persona l'ha trovata utile

interesting

enjoyed learning what happened to the king & queen. finding love and losing it.. love

1 persona l'ha trovata utile