The Semi-Detached House

The Semi Detached House

(5 stars)

Christine Zaf

This is a lovely book, a great piece of escapism. I read it because of the narrator, Elizabeth Kletts. I adore her English accent and am currently listening to all of the books read by Elizabeth. This is a great book in a period in which we are bombarded by negativity and bad news. I highly recommend it. Thank you Elizabeth.

The antisemitism in this story is jarring.

(3 stars)

A LibriVox Listener

love Elizabeth Klett's reading.

The Semi

(5 stars)

TheBookworm

Pleasant novella of mid-Victorian manners very well read by Elizabeth Klett. Not great literature but an enjoyable and nicely paced story of how various characters (with notable exceptions) overcome their prejudices through the influence of unassuming Mrs. Hopkinson. [Spoiler alert!!] In this tale, the antithesis of the noble and generous English is a family of pretentious and manipulative Jews, complete with stereotypical names. The author seems to be telling us that even as Christian converts they cannot escape the inborn proclivities of their "race". This stuff is very distasteful, and the text is not at all saved - at least for me - by one sympathetic Jewish character. I suggest we learn from this novel by reading it as a sort of historical ethnography that shows how insidious anti-Semitism came to be taken for granted by entire classes. TheBookworm, who grew up in a semi, (Manchester, UK)

(5 stars)

MKaufman

I also chose this novel because it’s read by Kletts. Her choices of novels match my reading interests almost identically. Drawn to become an English teacher from discovering the novels of Jane Austen in high school, I was so excited to learn of another novelist, Emily Eden, with similar stories. As a new mom who is just transitioning from teaching to motherhood, this audiobook brought me new “companions” to go on walks with and do dishes with. I so enjoyed the many story lines, almost all light hearted. If you enjoy Jane Austen and that time period, you will love listening to this narrative.

Light and fun

(5 stars)

ListeninginChicago

Another excellent reading by Elizabeth Klett. I agree with the earlier comment by TheBookworm - unfortunate that they had to cast the schemers as Jewish when schemers exist in all racial groups. Even with that, I found the book lighthearted and fun to listen to and would recommend it.

lost count on # of listens

(5 stars)

GM Jones

6/2020 this is just a delight to read because It is a great story/ series, and Elizabeth Klett lends us her talent once more. No movie could come close to making the characters seem more real and multidimensional than E. Klett!

light and charming...

(5 stars)

BrooklynTeach

Except for the small matter of what was then a societally acceptable amount of antisemitism, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Honestly, it's a shame, making the antiheroes Jewish; think about how wonderfully dreadful Mrs Elton was, or Fanny Dashwood, or Mrs Norris...

Cute

(4.5 stars)

Abigail

This was a sweet, enjoyable little story with hints of societal satire. Although not terribly great, it was tolerably amusing. As always, Elizabeth Klett is phenomenal. Both her style of narrating and the quality of her recordings are impeccable.