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Barbara Erskine
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Whispers in the Sand Paperback – Jan. 1 2001

by barbara-erskine (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 972 ratings
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Used book in good condition, due to its age it could contain normal signs of use
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  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    Penguin Books Canada, Limited
  3. Publication date
    Jan. 1 2001
  4. Dimensions
    11.1 x 3.4 x 17.8 cm
  5. ISBN-10
    0006512070
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0006512073
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books Canada, Limited; New Ed edition (Jan. 1 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0006512070
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0006512073
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 301 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 11.1 x 3.4 x 17.8 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 972 ratings

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Barbara Erskine

Barbara Erskine

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
972 global ratings

Top reviews from Canada

Nancy
5.0 out of 5 stars One for the top of your reading list.
Reviewed in Canada on August 10, 2014
What an incredible book. Arrived within two days from Amazon, and after reading the first two pages I could not put it down.
I have spend time in Egypt so it was almost like a travelogue as well as an intriguing plot. Egypt was very accurately portrayed and the character development kept me on my toes. Who was the good guy ? Who had sinister leanings? The author kept us guessing but in an intellectual and challenging way. This book has it all, a good mystery, a love interest and jealousy, Egypt and a satisfying ending. I kept thinking of the characters days after finishing the book they were so well developed. Its the sign of an excellent read when the book stays with you afterward in a pleasant way.
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richard robichaud
4.0 out of 5 stars A gift
Reviewed in Canada on December 31, 2020
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A gift
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Heather Pearson
4.0 out of 5 stars An Egypt I could Love
Reviewed in Canada on August 19, 2011
Recently divorced, Anna Fox needs a change in her life. Once her dear Aunt Phyllis suggests she visit Egypt, Anna can't get that location out of her mind. In the mid nineteenth century her great grandmother Louisa visited Egypt and created a wealth of painting of the sites she visited. She also left a travel diary, which Phyllis bestowed to her. Hidden in the depths of both women's stories are those of the ancient priests Anhotep and Hatsek. Both died a violent death at the hands of the other, yet their souls have remained bound to the earth until they have settled that which they left unfinished.

At first I thought that this was a 'time travel' story, rather it is a story that is told in three different time periods. First, the priests who lived over 3000 years ago, Louisa who travelled to Egypt about 150 years ago and finally Anna in an unspecified modern year. I had no trouble knowing when I was at any time. Ms. Erskine used a different 'voice' for each time period.

I loved the comparison of the locations during the varied time periods. It must have been wonderful to visit the sites long before they became overwhelmed by tourists. The descriptions were so vivid that I was able to imagine myself within the story as a passenger on the ship. Makes me long to add Egypt to my travel list.

The only thing I didn't like about the novel, was the resolution of the 'scent bottle'. I understand that it couldn't be broken or lost, but I was expecting for a final answer. All in all, a most enjoyable read. I am next looking forward to reading Lady of Hay, an earlier book by Barbara Erskine.
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Diana Faillace Von Behren
3.0 out of 5 stars Supernatural Stalkings
Reviewed in Canada on October 17, 2002
Barbara Erskine re-explores her favorite themes of obsession, romance, and the supernatural in this 500+-page novel told against the exotic backdrop of the lush banks of the Nile and the fascinating monuments of Egypt's ancient kings.
In 1866, famous artist Louisa Shelley, newly widowed, cruises down from Luxor to Ashram. She recounts her travel adventures through her paintings/sketches and in her diary. In particular she revels in the telling of a newfound love and his love token of an ancient scent bottle.
Now in modern times, Louisa's great-great-granddaughter, Anna, at odds with her own life, returns to the scene of her ancestor's adventure, bringing the diary and the now antique scent bottle back to Egypt where their return initiates a chain of events which threaten Anna's very life. Feelings of greed, obsession,and jealousy stir amongst the passengers on-board Anna's cruise, but the main force unleashed whirls from the hub of the scent bottle, the contents of which is protected by two malevolent priests who drain the lifeforce of all those who come within the bottle's sphere of influence.
This particular foray into the supernatural is written very much in the more hurried style Ms Erskine employs in "On The Edge of Darkness". The characters are not as finely drawn as in her earlier successes, "Lady of Hay" and "Child of the Phoenix", nor does it contain the mind-chilling fear generated so frightfully well in "House of Echoes". Here, the frenetic state of the modern-day cruise passengers due from "exposure" to the priests and the bottle seems trite and a little too indignant to be considered realistic. There is a lot of angry repetitive conversation and a lot of toe-treading right from the start which in a normal holiday environment would not exist and could only be thought of as contrived by the author to suggest the dark behind-the-scenes workings of the priests. Even so, the events flow quickly and remain somewhat interesting due to the technique of interspercing Louisa's diary entries---by far the more compelling of the two parallel tales--- with corresponding moments during Anna's tour. One final problem---As the story runs on, accruing one catastrophe after another, it dies abruptly with no apparent ending or resolution other than an afterward by the author where we are told that we, like the characters, must acknowledge the priests' evil and decide that some form of semi-unification amongst the book's persona will eventually and successfully combat it. While this ending may seem "real", it is nonetheless not a satisfacatory literary ending. The priests may or may not be subdued, nothing is rectified concretely and consequently,the reader feels taken for a 500+ page ride with an appropriate destination in sight, but, alas, disappointingly never quite reaches the goal. Nevertheless, I still recommend it as Ms Erskine's niche of combining the supernatural with the everyday has otherwise not been filled.
Hopefully, Ms Erskine's next endeavor will render a more satisfactory conclusion and rekindle that fresh interest in the unknown/occult that her earlier works evoke.
One person found this helpful
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Beverley Strong
4.0 out of 5 stars A touch of the occult
Reviewed in Canada on July 9, 2004
This is an exciting novel which grabs your attention from the word go ! Recovering from a recent divorce, Anna decides to follow in the footsteps of her famous great,great grandmother, an artist of some renown and make a trip to Egypt. She embarks on a luxury cruise from Luxor to Aswan, carrying with her two of her great grandmother Louisas' legacies- a glass scent bottle and her diary. The story then switches backwards and forwards to encompass the stories of both women.
I found it to be a book that I couldn't put down and on several nights, was horrified to see that it was 2am and not only was I still engrossed, but was literally bug-eyed with the drama of it..be warned !!
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Patricia Chaput
4.0 out of 5 stars Whispers in the Sand
Reviewed in Canada on August 11, 2002
I really enjoyed this book. It had a mystical tale with a blend of history and sorcery. It captivated my attention by exploring the archeological history of Egypt in the present and the past and also by adding the spice of a forbidden romance.
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Top reviews from other countries

TIddler
5.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 11, 2024
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I was there in Egypt on the Nile especially Philae I knew exactly where she stood. Brilliant.
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Suzy
5.0 out of 5 stars Whispers in the Sand
Reviewed in Italy on September 21, 2014
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Un libro appassionante che ho fatto fatica a lasciare finche sono arrivata all'ultima pagina e poi mi è dispiaciuto averlo finito!
A book that was hard to put down until the last page and then I was sorry it was finished!
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Laura Watnemoe
5.0 out of 5 stars Whispers in the Sand
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2012
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This book was a little difficult to keep up with because it switches back and forth from the present characters and past ones, but once you can keep them straight you will love the adventure. There is such wonderful descriptions of things in Egypt. You will be transported to the scenes and it is hard to put this book down because you wonder what is going to happen next. The characters are so different that one has a deep sense of awe and when you are in the past the detail is so great that you know just what they look like and where they are, what they will do though is a surprise! It is such a fine book and you feel like you want to know what will happen next so it is hard to put down.
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Sarah Pollard
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in Australia on April 27, 2015
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GOOD
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halepea
4.0 out of 5 stars A book to read on vacation...
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2012
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The writing is not perfect, although the plot is excellent. This story could have gone SO many more places than it did which is why you probably don't want to take important time to read this.

Without spoiling the plot (again, which had SO much potential!), I just felt there was too much unresolved mystery around the antique scent bottle which was causing all of the problem. I understand that the author was trying to feed little bits of information to keep the mystery alive, but I felt too often, too little was resolved.

It also seemed WAY too much was happening in the cabins on the boat that was sailing up the Nile. At one point I said to myself "Does Anna EVER get to just be in her cabin without someone knocking on the door?" I was getting annoyed at the interruptions and it wasn't even my cabin! There were other weaknesses but if you are on vacation reading this book, they are easy to overlook.

On the bright side, I loved the story of the great-great-grandmother as it was fed to us through her diary. WONDERFUL story set in Victorian times.

I felt the author had trouble bringing everything to a satisfactory conclusion at the end, but again, something that is easily overlooked if you have not devoted otherwise important time to this read.

My final suggestion: Go ahead and read it if you have mindless time and you haven't spent over $1.99 for the book. An easy read and clearly 3.5-4
stars.
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