THE WONDERS

There are moments in this audiobook when narrator Rebecca Gibel captures scenes so vividly that the listener is transported. But the time shifts in the story keep the listener distanced from the characters--despite Gibel's best efforts. Maria is living in 1960s Madrid with all the limitations a woman in that place and time must endure. Alicia, Maria's granddaughter, lives in contemporary Spain and is facing her own restrictions. It takes an active listener to embrace parallel stories in the audio format. Gibel is fully invested in her performance, nimbly delivering the characters' conversations. But it takes some time to understand the structure of the audiobook, and listeners will need to be willing to invest that time. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2022]