White Gardenia cover art

White Gardenia

Preview

Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

White Gardenia

By: Belinda Alexandra
Narrated by: Deidre Rubenstein
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $24.99

Buy Now for $24.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.
Cancel

About this listen

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 Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction War

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
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    32
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    35
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    34
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

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

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

Very interesting story

I loved this story and to find out how this tied into the authors family history is very special.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

Great story

Enjoyable story, and captivating, and the narrator was fabulous. However, the music bursting randomly and suddenly throughout was just seriously awful. I could not even hear the authors notes at end, due to music coming over top of narrators voice. This really needs to be changed for a more enjoyable experience with this book!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Almost

I enjoyed travelling along with Anya and the other characters in the White Gardenia and found it quite compelling on the whole. However I found Anya’s angst at times over dramatised and repetitive which distracted me from the story. I began to feel less sympathetic towards her character and by the end when sympathy was needed, less able to understand her choice to risk her child and husband lives. Having said this it was still a good read and “almost” great.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.