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The Third Angel: A Novel
Unavailable
The Third Angel: A Novel
Unavailable
The Third Angel: A Novel
Audiobook7 hours

The Third Angel: A Novel

Written by Alice Hoffman

Narrated by Nancy Travis

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

"Alice Hoffman is my favorite writer."
-Jodi Picoult


Alice Hoffman is one of our most beloved writers. Here on Earth was an Oprah Book Club selection. Practical Magic and Aquamarine were both bestselling books and Hollywood movies. Her novels have received mention as notable books of the year by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, and People magazine, and her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in the New York Times, The Boston Globe Magazine, Kenyon Review, Redbook, Architectural Digest, Gourmet, and Self.

Now, in The Third Angel, Hoffman weaves a magical and stunningly original story that charts the lives of three women in love with the wrong men: Headstrong Madeleine Heller finds herself hopelessly attracted to her sister's fiancé. Frieda Lewis, a doctor's daughter and a runaway, becomes the muse of an ill-fated rock star. And beautiful Bryn Evans is set to marry an Englishman while secretly obsessed with her ex-husband. At the heart of the novel is Lucy Green, who blames herself for a tragic accident she witnessed at the age of twelve, and who spends four decades searching for the Third Angel-the angel on earth who will renew her faith.

Brilliantly evoking London's King's Road, Knightsbridge, and Kensington while moving effortlessly back in time, The Third Angel is a work of startling beauty about the unique, alchemical nature of love.


From the Hardcover edition.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 8, 2008
ISBN9780739366431
Unavailable
The Third Angel: A Novel
Author

Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman is the author of many books for children including Aquamarine, Green Angel, and Nightbird. Her books for adults include Practical Magic, The Museum of Extraordinary Things,The Dovekeepers and The Marriage of Opposites. Half Magic is her favorite book for children and Edward Eager is her favorite children’s book author.

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Reviews for The Third Angel

Rating: 3.45623345464191 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

377 ratings33 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another of those "all-nighters" for me.

    The story moves backwards in time throughout 3 years of Lucy's life; 1999, 1966, 1952.

    Much of the story takes place at the Green Lion hotel in England, close to Hyde Park and therein lies the ghost tale of the man in black, who is heard yelling each night at 10:30 in the hallway in front of room 707.

    Lucy's life is interwoven with those of her father, stepmother, stepmother's sister, Teddy Healy (the man in the bar), Lucy's daughters, her soon to be in-laws, the hotel staff (one a doctor's daughter), the ghost, the bunny that lives in the hotel the enigmatic Blue Heron, and the Third Angel.

    This is complex, lyrical, hauntingly beautiful yet sad tale of tragic love and the loss of faith in mankind. It has moved me into a semi dream state....

    If anyone had told me that I'd be reading such a book, I wouldn't of believed them. I much prefer lighter "Happier" tales. I chose this book by the cover (ayup, I sure did) and the verso.

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Despite glowing reviews everywhere, I found this to be a fairly typical love story, or rather a trio of love stories. Each is centered at the Lion Park, a London hotel, and the characters in each story are somehow related to each other. The stories take place in 1999, 1966 and 1952 and each involves a woman who loves the wrong man. I enjoyed the stories well enough but this book just didn't have the indefinable "something special" that I expect from Alice Hoffman. I vastly preferred her more recent books The Dovekeepers, Blackbird House, and The Probable Future, among others.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The backdrop for most of this story is the Lion Park Hotel in London, a second-rate hotel that is haunted. The first portion of the book takes place in present day and deals with sisters Maddie and Allie. One does everything that is expected of her, the other believes she was an unwanted child and, as a result, lives a life of complete abandon. Frieda is the mother-in-law of one of the sisters and her story takes up the middle of the book - set in the 'swinging' 1960s. Hoping to escape from the dreariness of rural upbringing she makes her way to the Lion Park Hotel where she works as a maid. She becomes the muse for a rock-star wanna-be. The final part is about 12 year old Lucy. Lucy is the mother of the two young women we met in the first part of the story. Inadvertently she caused the problems that have brought about the haunting of the Lion Park's seventh floor.Three story arcs - separate, and yet completely interwoven. I was a bit slow on the uptake and read rather a long while before I realized the stories interconnected. When it dawned on me, though, it was a wonderful revelation and mede the book even more enjoyable. I am a fan of Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic, The Dovekeepers) and once again, she does not disappoint.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A beautiful novel that easily stands up to Hoffman's earlier work, this is one of those novels that not only entertains, but proves to be a slow-boiling puzzle that gives readers room to consider their own lives as they move through the book. From each of the characters to each of the subplots, Hoffman's moves in this book are masterful, and I can't recommend it highly enough. Regardless of the story, her ability to build so many different unique lives, and to believably portray both men and women of different ages, is something to behold, and the layering of the stories here was just an added treat--and, not overdone, as it seems so often is the case. Simply, an absolutely lovely and worthwhile read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I had high expectations after reading Hoffman's "The Dovekeepers." This was an interesting story, but it didn't match up to her masterpiece.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Not great, to be honest. The book this is most like is Knit Two, or whatever its called, a book that i suspect was read only by knitters. Yet another book about London in the Swinging Sixties, written by someone who may or may not have been to Britain, but is absolutely clearly not a Londoner. As a book about London it obviously has to include the following: quaint cottage, Edinburgh, tall Englishman, telephone boxes, ghosts, incredibly implausible co-incidences (there are so few of us on this island that we do pretty much know each other..). This book was one big jump of the shark, but the point of no return was the cameo by a young John Lennon (Britain is very small you know, we bump into the Beatles all the time on our arcane public transport system).Really a let down after so many other good books. No one does paranoid suburban magical realism like Alice Hoffmann.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    (Received via Member Giveaways)Three women, three different time periods, in love with the wrong types of men, one hotel, Lucy Green, and the Third Angel (an earthly one as opposed to the Angel of Life or the Angel of Death).The Third Angel is a story in three parts and those three parts can be read either in the order they come in (1999, 1966, 1952) or start at the "beginning" (1952) and work your way forward. I liked that set-up and, while I have only read the stories in one direction, I believe the reader will come away with something different depending on the way the book is read.The book was a wonderful read about different facets of everyday people - what they show to others, what they hide, what may (or may not) be seen by others and how perfect strangers may sometimes know us better than our relatives. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a great read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really loved this book! A great read. I didn't think I would at first, but Hoffman weaves her story so well, I did by the end. I highly recommend this book for a different kind of novel and love story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Angel of Life and The Angel of Death. We've all heard of these. But who is The Third Angel? Ahhh...he's the most curious one; the one who is saving your life when you least know she/he is by your side. This is a fascinating read. It begins with 2 sisters; one who is very down-to-earth and the other one is a writer of children's books. Her mother tells her about the heron who is a bird that waits for the one he loves. When the daughter writes her book based on the heron, she writes it in such way that if a person read it either forward or backward, they will always have a happy ending. To me, this book is a timeline of that very nature only in reverse order. It begins in the 90's and ends in the 50's. Hoffman writes about the characters in the 90's and reveals to us their relatives of the past. This wasn't apparent to me until the second half of the book. I was feeling like I was reading history in the reverse order. I have read alot of books by th...more The Angel of Life and The Angel of Death. We've all heard of these. But who is The Third Angel? Ahhh...he's the most curious one; the one who is saving your life when you least know she/he is by your side. This is a fascinating read. It begins with 2 sisters; one who is very down-to-earth and the other one is a writer of children's books. Her mother tells her about the heron who is a bird that waits for the one he loves. When the daughter writes her book based on the heron, she writes it in such way that if a person read it either forward or backward, they will always have a happy ending. To me, this book is a timeline of that very nature only in reverse order. It begins in the 90's and ends in the 50's. Hoffman writes about the characters in the 90's and reveals to us their relatives of the past. This wasn't apparent to me until the second half of the book. I was feeling like I was reading history in the reverse order. I have read alot of books by the author. This was really defnitely different but enjoyed it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is story of three women who fall in love with the wrong men. It is beautiful and soulful.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Why did Alice Hoffman stray from her established formula? There was no New England weather, no real magic (excepting the weird ghost explanation), no generations of fated sisters. Yes, some connections appeared in this very linear novel, but with very little circling back to hit home. What was the point? What was the Third Angel?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A haunted London hotel is the setting of 3 tragic tales. In the first story a young woman falls in love with a man doomed to die. The second involves a woman who tries to save a drug addict. The third is about how the hotel became haunted in the first place. This story is complex and beautiful. I enjoyed the way Hoffman tied the 3 stories together. Alice HOffman is one of my favorite writers; her stories never disappoint.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This latest offering by Ms. Hoffman is a generational piece whose roots are in the 1950s. The backdrop for most of the story is the Lion Park hotel in London, a second-rate hotel that is haunted. Our first encounter with sisters Maddie and Allie uncovers a betrayal by the younger sister who lives a care-free existence based on the fact that she believes that she was an unloved child. Allie, the older sister, has pretty much done what was expected of her because she has always been the caretaker; first when her mother had cancer and later when her fiance suffers from the same disease. She realizes only too late that she truly loves her fiance and moves swiftly to makes things right only to lose him too. Freida, the fiance's mother, takes up the middle of the book. Her story is set in the 1960s and brought back for this reader 'the look' that was so popular then in London: overly made-up eyes, short mini-skirts, high boots, swingy music, free love, etc. Hoping to escape from the dreariness of a rural youth she makes her way to the Lion Park hotel where she works as a maid. Soon, though, she becomes the muse for a rock-star wanna-be who is hooked on drugs and has a very Paris Hilton-like girlfriend. In the end, Freida puts all of the very trendy and drug-filled life behind her and returns to her rural home where she marries the boyfriend who had gone on to college. She goes on to nursing school herself and lives a very fulfilling life in spite of the ghostly happenings that populated her time working at the Lion Park. The thread that sews it all together is Lucy Green. Lucy is the mother of the two young women we first met at the outset of the story. Inadvertently she is the one who caused the problems that have brought about the haunting of the Lion Park's seventh floor. Having witnessed the deaths of the people involved she withdraws to a secret place inside herself just as she did when her own mother passed away. It takes love in all its simple complexities to bring Lucy into her own once more. This book is a very easy read despite the complexities of the characters we meet. I read it in two sittings and would have accomplished it in one had I not fallen asleep at nearly two in the morning. I give this story four stars simply because I've enjoyed some of Ms. Hoffman's other offerings more. Note: you're bound to fall in love with Millie. Recommended: Practical Magic, The Probable Future
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Not my favorite Alice Hoffman book, but would still recommend.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I liked parts of this book but in the end, I didn't find that it hung together well enough. It is an ambitious work combining multiple threads through time and place. The characters combined a strange mix of apathy and passion, never quite getting it all to come together; many lost souls.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I just plain didn't like the book. Too new agey for me. I did like the idea behind the title, namely the third angel. There is the Angel of Death, the Angel of Life, and the Third Angel, who comes by surprise. When you think you are helping someone else, it turns out that they are helping you. I've had a number of Third Angels in my life.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Alice Hoffman is one of my favorites. So it shouldn't have surprised me how beautiful, how eloquent this book is. Three story arcs- separate, and yet completely interwoven. It's a wonderful look at love, and how it changes and also how completely intertwined we all are. We will never know all the people our lives may have touched.

    Hoffman's characters are exquistitely human.You feel for them even when you don't want to, and find yourself sympathizing with even the worst behavior. (My favorite kind of book)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Three stories that progress backward in time, but are intertwined by the characters and the fates. We encounter two sisters who should be as close as best friends, but don't look beneath the surface to see each others hopes and fears; a young woman whose sensitivity gains her close friendships, but not the love of her life; and a young girl who is so shaken by the depth of a lost love that she almost loses all hope for her own future. Then an unlikely character, who ties the stories together, makes her a gift that restores her faith. As soon as I finished, I wanted to read it all over again to pick up the subtleties I missed the first time. Excellent.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Sadly, I'm ready to call it quits when it comes to reading Alice Hoffman novels. When I first encountered the author's work in 2006, I was completely captivated by "The Ice Queen." But I later found "The River King" and "The Probable Future" to be uneven and tedious. "The Third Angel" falls into the latter lackluster category. True, Hoffman managed to create some intriguing characters. But the book is didn't resonate with me.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This captivating story is intricately woven and, in my opinion, one of Hoffman's best.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Fantastic characters in three interwoven stories. An amazing author who really sees people in all of their dimensions.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Such a clever book. Once again this author surprised me.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Three different stories that are interesting. A little harder to remember it is three different stories on audiobook especially if you are distracted when the stories switch.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Alice Hoffman's writing never disappoints me. She wrote many books and I've read most of them. Spanning three generations, the story begins with two sisters. One who is about to get married in England, the other will be the bride's maid. Sadly, the groom has cancer and his life is short. The groom is the only child of Frieda who these years later has grown from a wayward young adult searching for something illusionary and is employed as a maid at the Lion Park Hotel. The Lion Park Hotel plays a major part throughout the book.Now a conventional woman with a husband and son, Frieda's prayers are that her son will live. There are a host of characters and their lives weave in and out of each other. Alice Hoffman is a great writer who is quite capable of switching characters and paving the way for the reader to follow easily.When young, Frieda rode in the car with her doctor father who told her he never knew if the first angel of life would ride with them, or the second angel death would follow. The Third Angel is the one who watches over. As the book description mentions, the story focuses on the girls and women who make choices that have a high cost, and thus the consequences are steep.Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved it
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I loved almost all the characters in this novel except one, Frieda. And even though isn't understand her motives, I was still interested in why she made her bad choices. Her sister's love story made me cry, it was so touching and sad. I was hoping the novel would continue with her story, but it jumped to other characters we had briefly met before, and what their lives and losses were like.
    In fact, I'm thinking now that this novel was about love and loss, and the many ways it happens to us, and how we deal with it.
    This whole novel was a lovely, touching way to spend the evening in bed while sick, and distracting myself from the pain. I enjoyed every story in it, and recommend it to all readers.
    The audiobook is read by Nancy Travis, the actor. You may have seen her in tv shows like Becker, where she was the lead character's love interest for the last season or so. She is very, very good, and I enjoyed her immensely.
    Four stars.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I was confused with the different characters as I listened to the audio. The story moved sort of back and forth so it was difficult to keep the time sequence figured out. I almost quit after the 3rd of 7 disks but once I'm " into " a CD it's tough to just plain stop no matter what.....
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A poignantly, beautiful story told going backwards in time. Well, it starts in the present day ending with the part set in the Fifties, where it all began. What running themes carry across the book? Parental relationships, sick mothers, abandoning fathers, sibling friendships and rivalry, lovers, death and most importantly the Lion Park Hotel in Knightsbridge and Mrs Ridge. In the first part we have two sisters, the younger whose jealousy towards her sister nearly ruins their relationship. Their mother had cancer during their childhood, their father leaves because he cannot cope. Now Allie, the eldest is getting married to a man who is terminally ill. In part two, we see Frieda, the groom's mother cope with her life. Frieda has a close relationship with her father until he leaves her mother for the bereaved wife of a patient. When her father moves on she cannot deal with this and she becomes closer to her mother. Frieda works at a Knightsbridge hotel and meets a struggling musician engaged to be married to one of two wealthy, very close, heroine addicted sisters.The final part of the story is devoted to Lucy, the mother of the sisters in part one. Lucy's mother has passed away and Lucy has come to London with her father and his new wife. After they have booked into the hotel, Lucy escapes her father and his prickly wife, wandering off to Hyde Park where she talks to two sisters, both very blonde and very close. Later on, after a tragic event, Lucy becomes ill and is treated by a doctor.Without giving too much of the story away, I hope I have managed to give you the gist of some of the pieces which link these people together in far more ways than one.In real life, they say the world is not that big and in many ways that is true. How many people do you know who are connected in more ways than one or who frequently pop up in your life over the years for differing reasons? That has certainly been the case for me on occasion.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I love Alice Hoffman's writing. I find her truly unique and I become completely...emotionally awake when I'm in her stories. However, I struggled with a rating for this book. It is made up of intertwining stories of people who mostly don't even know they are part of each otehr's stories - and it jumps through time. I found myself having to go back and untangle who was which, an unpleasant task (albeit easier in the Kindle version.) Things are explained but it takes a bit to realize what you've learned and unknot the path that led you there. I gave it 3 stars because I just can't discourage people from reading this author and you do get questions answered, just not in a linear fashion.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Headstrong Madeleine Heller finds herself hopelessly attracted to her sister's fiancé. Frieda Lewis, a doctor's daughter and a runaway, becomes the muse of an ill-fated rock star. And beautiful Bryn Evans is set to marry an Englishman while secretly obsessed with her ex-husband. At the heart of the novel is Lucy Green, who blames herself for a tragic accident she witnessed at the age of twelve, and who spends four decades searching for the Third Angel - the angel on earth who will renew her faith.My Thoughts:I loved both Practical Magic and Blue Diary and wanted to really like this book. However I didn’t and I struggled to finish it. The story is told backwards and all three story interweave with each other.The first story I felt was the better one but it was depressing. The second and third stories for me were promising but really didn’t go anywhere. The characters were not fleshed out enough I felt were very wooden. The story had a ghost element to it but for me that fizzled out to nothing at allMy only positive with this book is that some of the passages were beautifully written. My favourite being this one:The exact moment Paul opened his mouth and a strange breath came out, as if his spirit was leaving him.Allie reached uo to catch it and it slipped through her fingers. It was so fine it was like trying to catch light within a pair of clumsy hands or sift running water in the dark..Really sorry that I couldn’t have liked this book more but for me it was boring at times and quite depressing.