Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
White Gardenia cover art

White Gardenia

By: Belinda Alexandra
Narrated by: Deidre Rubenstein
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £25.99

Buy Now for £25.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Orchid Tree cover art
Wild Lavender cover art
Silver Wattle cover art
Tuscan Rose cover art
What the Night Sings cover art
The Garden of Letters cover art
The Mirror cover art
North and South cover art
Virgins cover art
The Oceans Between Us cover art
Friends Forever cover art
War Brides cover art
Three Daughters cover art
The Forgotten Garden cover art
Whisper of the Moon Moth cover art
East of the Sun cover art

Summary

In the tradition of Paullina Simons comes an unforgettable story of a mother and daughter from a remarkable new writer. Beginning in a small village under Japanese occupation on the Chinese-Russian border in the final days of World War II, White Gardenia tells the story of a Russian mother and daughter separated by war. From the glamorous nightclubs of Shanghai to the harshness of the Siberian wasteland, from a desolate island in the South China Sea and to a new life in post-war Australia, and finally to Cold War Moscow, White Gardenia sweeps across cultures and continents.
©2002 Belinda Alexandra (P)2003 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic reviews

"Deidre Rubenstein's well-modulated contralto voice brings empathy and compassion to Alexandra's first novel....Powerful dramatization." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about White Gardenia

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Poorly written novel

Firstly the excessive graphic descriptive detail was totally unnecessary The overly romanticism of Russian aristocrat who oozed class and blue blood Totally ridiculous marriage storyline I found myself so agitated The narration when accented was good but over cooked at times Not for me

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Very loooong

Too long and way too dramatic, every situation,even simple ones, is dressed up in gaspingly high drama. 100 words when 5 would do. I found it exhausting.

I also found it odd that it was so loaded towards the refugees discomforts but never one comment of gratitude towards their rescuers or to Australia for taking in the refugees - I’ve never been to Australia but any country that rescues other human beings deserves applause and gratitude for its consideration & care, it’s gift of such opportunity & freedom.
But it lacked generosity of thought towards those kind people, expressed no gratitude -it just didn’t figure. I found that made it a strangely self-centred novel.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Great portrayal of Oz post-war emigrant view

Love this author but found her Russian heroine harder to identify with than her other book's main characters -- put it down to the character's Russian emotionalism - she seemed to cry at the drop of a hat. Absolutely loved her description of post-war immigration to Australia... as someone who emigrated in early '70's to Oz, four or five decades on from the story, found that little had changed in the welcome anyone from 'outside' Australia received. But like the main character, found so so much to love about the country.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!