New Reviews: Fiction

Undocumented Peruvian Ana Falcón is compassionately portrayed by narrator Frankie Corzo in Rivero's touted debut novel. Ana dreams that her family, who have left a crumbling Peru, will flourish in America. Even in Peru, Ana's indigenous heritage made her a second-class citizen--unlike her urban, educated, and lighter-skinned husband. Whereas he sees returning to Peru as a... Read More

Mark Bramhall's narration captures Arthur Alter's evolution from total self-involvement to something better. This novel is dark, humorous, compelling, and all about family. Alter is a mostly failed academic with two semi-dysfunctional adult children who are mourning their mother, Francine, and resenting the affair their father carried out while Francine was on her deathbed.... Read More

This is not your grandfather's audio spy thriller. Marie Mitchell, a young African-American officer, is routinely bypassed and underestimated by the old boys in the intelligence networks she works for, and it has made her a much harder-headed customer than is suggested by the warm, feminine voice with which Turpin skillfully misleads you. When Marie is finally offered a plum... Read More

Robin Miles's expert narration truly brings out the best in Jamaica Kincaid's tender account of a girl's childhood in Antigua. Miles's performance savors the tastes and smells of the novel's Caribbean setting--a great strength of Kincaid's writing--and re-creates the excitement, innocence, and sorrows of childhood with grace and skill. In rare moments Miles's pacing seems just... Read More

An illuminating account of the life of African saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita, canonized in 2000, is enhanced by Bahni Turpin's compelling narration. Weaving together an audible tapestry of diverse voices and historical places, Turpin's steady cadence effortlessly ushers listeners into a past world. She invites them to walk alongside Bakhita from her childhood in Darfur in... Read More

Scottish actor Euan Morton adopts a primarily American intonation for Pitchaya Sudbanthad's impressive multilayered evocation of Bangkok past, present, and future. The choice makes sense, as many of the characters are American visitors or Thai expats living in the States. When called upon, Morton's Thai pronunciation is almost always correct. The audiobook comprises short... Read More

Carl Prekopp's narration takes the listener to a world in which people's memories are voluntarily removed and bound into books. The lives of Emmett Farmer, a young man who was born with the sacred skill of bookbinding, and Lucian Darnay, the only son of a wealthy family with noble ties, are intertwined in ways neither can recall. Prekopp's performance draws the listener deeply... Read More

Beresford Bennett's narration of this dramatic story set in Jamaica during the 1980s moves at a steady pace. The protagonist, Ferron, is dealing with the death of his father. The rhythm of Bennett's tone and pace changes when he portrays Ferron and speaks in a Jamaican dialect. His solemn yet energetic intonation reflects the political upheaval on this small island. When he is... Read More

Unfold a beach chair, put on your earphones, and listen to the ultimate Southern beach story. Four very different women, portrayed by four uniquely talented narrators--Andi Arndt, Dorothy Dillingham Blue, Shannon McManus, and Lauren Fortgang--explore topics ranging from female bonding and relationship issues to medical malpractice, addiction, trauma, and the longing for a... Read More

Multiple narrators leave no emotion untouched as they dive into the struggles, anxieties, and fears of the Butler siblings, who are still reeling from the criminal convictions of their "perfect" elder sister and her husband. Adenrele Ojo's performance is steely and stoic as Althea Butler faces her long punishment. Her husband, Proctor, is portrayed by Dominic Hoffman, whose... Read More

Blair Brown delivers a superb narration of Elizabeth Gilbert's novel, which features the recollections of a 95-year-old New York seamstress who came of age during WWII. Brown's straightforward, charming depiction illuminates the vivacious young woman the wistful elderly narrator remembers, and her conversational pacing creates vibrant pictures for the listener. In 1940, after... Read More

Assaf Cohen is a flexible narrator whose dexterity is shown as a cast of characters grapples with growing conflict in Syria. Cohen switches from Hammoudi, the doctor, to Amal, the actress, as government surveillance and citizen unrest grow. Fans of world literature will find much to enjoy in this exploration of current events. As listeners are taken into a world of ambition,... Read More

With exquisite sensitivity, narrator Nancy Peterson channels the complex character of Susannah Martin, one of 14 women hanged for witchcraft during the infamous Salem witch trials. Susannah waits for months in abysmal conditions for her execution, repeatedly playing back memories of her long-ago courtship with her handsome beau. Peterson's depictions of both Susannahs--the... Read More

Narrators Baris Duyan and Ayse Eldek earnestly deliver 12 stories of love, despair, and hope in conflict-ravaged Turkey. In this debut collection by a Turkish political hostage, Duyan and Eldek recount the everyday lives of people affected by political chaos. Listeners may perceive this audiobook as highly political, but the foreword, narrated by Kate Reading, says that it "is... Read More

Michael Urie narrates this novel about author James Smale, whose big break comes when the novel inspired by his dysfunctional family is picked up by Jackie Kennedy Onassis, an editor at a major publishing house. The story moves back and forth between the novel, his actual family's story, and interactions with his famous editor. Urie's performance is inconsistent. He captures... Read More

Narrator Karissa Vacker brings impeccable timing and pacing to this hilarious story about how people change. Holly has been reflecting on her former days on the popular kids' show "Diego and the Lion's Den"--so much so that the subreddit thread she started on the topic has landed her in "Internet rehab." Vacker's steady tone mirrors Holly's thoughts and flashbacks to "the old... Read More

In this debut audiobook, women carrying surrogate pregnancies submit to constant monitoring and near total isolation at the titular farm in exchange for nine months of luxury and a hefty sum. Narrator Fran de Leon uses accents and tone to differentiate between the points of view of several characters. Some of de Leon's characterizations are more effective than others. Filipina... Read More

"I don't want to make photographs, I want to make windows," says the subject of this fictional biography of a street photographer, single mother, and provocateur who set out to make a name for herself in the late 1950s-early 1960s New York arts scene. Using a natural and direct delivery, and with the help of a few veteran narrators, author Myla Goldberg deftly takes up much of... Read More

With crisp, youthful intonations, author Helen Oyeyemi narrates her bizarre coming-of-age tale, unfurling the history of two families, two worlds, and many batches of warm, intoxicating gingerbread. Combining the everyday and the extraordinary, Oyeyemi travels in time between the daily indelicacies of Harriet Lee's adult life and her strange adolescence in Druhástrana, a realm... Read More

Alana Kerr Collins affectionately narrates this tragic love story with a beautifully calm tone and Irish accent. Both belie the racing thoughts of Grace, who loses Henry, the love of her life, when he's killed in a bike accident. Grace is shattered until Henry's long-lost twin, Andy, portrayed by Euan Morton, shows up. This dramatic twist is given gravity, thanks to the... Read More

Orlagh Cassidy narrates Blake's beautifully written multigenerational story of love and lies with consummate skill. Elegant and clear, distant yet passionate, she helps listeners discover the quirks in characters' personalities and explore their motives, both evident and hidden. The story, which spans the 1930s to the present, revolves around the Milton family of New York and... Read More

Stewart O'Nan revisits the Maxwell family, introduced in WISH YOU WERE HERE (2002) and EMILY, ALONE (2011). In the third audiobook, narrator Richmond Hoxie's scratchy voice gives Henry just a hint of amusement as he deals with the routine things that give order to his ordinary life. In a charmingly understated delivery, Hoxie reveals a gentle man who helps out at church, looks... Read More

A dozen narrators perform this collection of stories about Chinese 20-somethings who are navigating the road to adulthood. All the narrators underscore the central drama of the stories, such as the clash of generations, the difficulties and joys of immigration, and the complexities of friendship. The characters are primarily the children of immigrants, university students... Read More

Emma Powell's evocative narration creates drama and suspense in this touching story about a young woman who is uncovering a repressed trauma. When her honorary godfather and friend, Patrick, is hospitalized, Maddy returns to Havenbury to take care of him. She also must run the pub Patrick owns, where she lived and worked three years earlier. Although the voices of the... Read More

This story of estrangement and forgiveness will move listeners. In a smooth voice and steady pace, David Pittu narrates the plight of two families as they confront the devastating effects of the Basque-Spanish conflict. In a Basque country village occupied by militants, Bittori and Miren are lifelong friends. But when Bittori's husband is gunned down by Basque separatists, a... Read More

Narrator Janina Edwards draws listeners in to a complex story that offers an up-close view of the slave trade in the nineteenth century. She pulls out all the stops for this heartrending coming-of-age story about Aminah, a young Ghanaian woman. Listeners will appreciate Edwards's lively delivery and her strong portrayals of both male and female characters. Her repertoire... Read More

A girl's feelings of loss and and yearning during the Bangladeshi war for independence are captured beautifully by narrator Deepti Gupta. Her voice is melodic and mournful as we hear the earliest memories of the protagonist as a baby. Gupta infuses these moments of family life with a love so warm that it's palpable. This depth of feeling makes the wrenching pain of separation... Read More

Brian Nishii narrates this imaginative tale set in Japan about the complexities of death, life, and cats. At the outset, an unnamed 30-year-old man receives a terminal diagnosis. As imminent death looms, he receives a visit from the devil (cheekily named Aloha). The young man must decide if Aloha's offer to extend his life is worth the alternative losses he'd have to endure. As... Read More

Through shifting perspectives delivered by dual narrators, this audiobook examines life in an Appalachian town. Narrators Tom Stechschulte and Kate Forbes capture the diverse and engaging characters who tell the story of Sadie Blue, a young woman who realizes very quickly that she never should have married Roy Tupkin. The two narrators portray townspeople of various ages,... Read More

This speculative audiobook will surely engage listeners. What would you do if you saw an alternate version of yourself from a parallel universe? The story centers around four residents of a quiet Oregon neighborhood and the decisions they make after experiencing strange occurrences. There's Ginny, who sees a parallel version of herself who is happier with a woman; Mark, who... Read More

This extraordinary audiobook, performed by a quartet of talented narrators, will have listeners devouring its fabulist story while wishing it would never end. The one-of-a-kind Dead Papa Toothwort, a mythological creature existing for centuries in the woods outside an English village, is brought to menacing life by David Timson's deep, raspy timbre and deliberate phrasing.... Read More

Narrator Imogen Church turns this story about Martha Storm, a selfless, colorless librarian, into a compelling mystery. Martha was cursed with a sadistic father and a spineless mother who never defied him. Only her Nana Zelda encouraged her to use her imagination as a child. Now, with her family members are gone, Church credibly portrays a middle-aged spinster who is often... Read More

With remarkable vocal agility, narrator Michael Crouch takes a fascinating novel and makes it downright riveting. No matter what appears in the audiobook, Crouch is game. Ilya is an exchange student from Russia who is living in Louisiana. Fluent accents emerge without hesitation or exaggeration. The cast of characters expands, time shifts between past and present, and a mystery... Read More

Narrators Priya Ayyar and Ron Butler work together to chart the ups and downs of the Chandaria family's unexpected move from the U.S. to Kenya. As they confront long buried secrets, listeners soak up the narrators' expert performances. Ayyar sounds young, hopeful, and determined as Sunil, the rebellious son who doesn't want to be a doctor or marry an Indian woman. She describes... Read More

In an impressive audiobook of connected short stories about the city of Houston, three narrators and the author take on a myriad of personalities. Some characters tell one-off tales from their neighborhoods in Houston, while others reappear as we follow them through their lives. Author Bryan Washington voices the most frequently recurring character in a bored and nasal tone... Read More

The three narrators of this romantic comedy set in Leeds, England, play their characters charmingly. Grace, portrayed in an airy Yorkshire accent by Annabel Scholey, has fallen in love at first sight with a beautiful woman, only to find that the woman has a wandering eye. Violet, depicted in a childlike Greater Manchester accent by Lucy Dixon, experiences anxiety episodes that... Read More

Steven Crossley is a frequent narrator for McEwan's novels, and one who conveys with subtle effect McEwan's most ingenious and subversive storylines. That voice is a modern variation of the detached, worldly narrator of classic British suspense fiction--a voice that might have fit Adam, one of the first 25 autonomous robots on the market, rather than Adam's owner, Charlie, this... Read More

With only 40 minutes at her disposal, narrator Orlagh Cassidy turns Mary Ventura, a naïve and compliant young woman, into a frantic yet resolved individual who is willing to risk all to save herself from a preordained fate. Sylvia Plath's allegorical story was rejected when first submitted for publication in 1952, as this audiobook's introduction informs us, and it languished... Read More

Katherine Fenton is the ideal narrator for Hustvedt's latest novel, which explores familiar themes of the unreliability of memory, academia, social isolation in urban settings, and sexual politics. The story is told by middle-aged S.H. as she reflects on her time as a young graduate student in late-1970s New York City. Fenton's clear enunciation and skilled phrasing help... Read More

Narrator Jennifer Lim brings Angie Kim's debut novel to life. In rural Virginia, an experimental treatment facility offers cures for conditions like autism using a device call the Miracle Submarine. Then the device blows up, killing two people, and a murder trial follows. The story is full of unreliable narrators who are given unique voices by Lim. Protagonists Young and Pak's... Read More

In this audiobook, Natalie Tan returns to her childhood home in San Francisco's Chinatown after her mother's death. She is determined to reopen the restaurant once run by her mysterious grandmother and revitalize the neighborhood. Listeners eager to discover the fate of Natalie's restaurant may be frustrated by narrator Catherine Ho's leisurely pace, but those interested in... Read More

Vanessa Johansson smoothly narrates this story of intense friendship and its perils. Violet--a quiet, intelligent girl from the wrong side of the tracks--and Stella--a charismatic, rich beauty--become best friends at college. Johansson shines at her adept emotional portrayals of these two very different young women. After college, when Violet excels in a career she loves and... Read More

The listener is subjected to the inner monologue of a character whose life is filled with more possibilities than accomplishments. Thirty-year-old Millie can't muster the energy for much except spikes of rage, projected in harsh tones by author and narrator Halle Butler. Initially, the introduction of Millie's supervisor's thoughts is jarring due to their brief and sporadic... Read More

In this memorable audiobook, Connell and Marianne, both smart, odd, and socially at sea, are deeply connected to each other and too young to know how rare their bond is. Everyone at their village high school in Sligo knows that Connell's mother cleans house for Marianne's family, so they feign indifference. At university, everything changes, then reverses, then changes again.... Read More

Set in 1928, this audiobook is the story of Mattie Simpkin, a former suffragette who founds a club, the Amazons, to educate girls on the importance of their hard-won right to vote. Jane Copland narrates, giving unique voice to a wide range of characters: Mattie; her housemate, "The Flea"; and Ida and Inez, two girls in the Amazons. Copland's ability to employ accent, tempo, and... Read More

Three narrators work together to create this intergenerational family saga. Adjoa Andoh, Richard E. Grant, and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith alternate chapters to create the three families whose fates and thirst for revenge tie them together for more than a hundred years. Written and told as a series of short stories, the works introduce listeners to new people, settings, and time... Read More

Kimberly Farr has previously narrated two other Elizabeth Strout novels, earning Earphones Awards for both. Her clear grasp of Strout's characterizations and the flow of her delivery are, therefore, not surprising but remain praiseworthy. While named for a single, recurring character--an emotionally unpredictable yet surprisingly sympathetic one--OLIVE KITTERIDGE uses a village... Read More

Ocean Vuong narrates the story of a young Vietnamese immigrant to the U.S. who is completing a letter to his mother, who cannot read. As both author and narrator, Vuong is in the perfect position to narrate the audiobook just as it was intended. His delivery gives even more power to the captivating prose, keeping the listener hooked as the main character, Little Dog, discovers... Read More

The genie of the city of Rome narrates this tale of love, performed in a soft voice by Steve West. Three couples and their stories become intertwined on a single day in Rome. Alice, a student from New York City; a couple whose marriage is shredding at the seams; and a woman and her sister-in-law are all in Rome for various reasons. Using diverse accents, West delivers most of... Read More

Narrator Kyla García provides a bright voice for the unnamed woman, an art gallery tour guide, at the heart of this Argentinian novel. Speaking in the first person, the protagonist finds her extensive knowledge of painting, both current and historical, blending into her own personal experiences. Approaching middle age and battling cancer, she reminisces about significant events... Read More

The mosaic of American experiences is expertly captured by an ensemble reading of Pulitzer Prize winner Lalami's superb new novel. Moroccan-American Nora is summoned to her family home in the California desert after the hit-and-run death of her beloved father. The tragedy resonates among a circle of people: Nora; her mother and sister; Efrain, an illegal Mexican immigrant who... Read More

This is a listen for those curious about what life was like under the spell of the real-life cult-like figure Timothy Leary, who extolled the virtues of psychedelic drugs, free love, and the search for enlightenment. Boyle's latest novel takes the listener back to the 1960s and a group of PhD students who are followers of the charismatic psychologist. Narrator Johnathan McClain... Read More

Elizabeth Sastre narrates with Christine Rendel and Fabio Tassone as they deliver the complicated story of Suzanna Peacock. Blessed and cursed to be the daughter of the scandalous Athene Fairley-Hulme, Suzanna finds that the only place she can be herself is in her own coffee bar. Sastre delivers a compelling performance as she takes on the emotions and concerns of the... Read More

Jeed Saddy brings to life the four buoyant women who educate us on the power within the downtrodden. Her range as a narrator is put to good use as she switches between Deepa, Joy, Rokshana, and Padma. The girls, and their mothers, work together to keep the city of Bangalore from demolishing their only home. Ironically named Heaven, the slum is all they have--except for each... Read More

This audiobook is a perfect storm in which the beautiful yet brutal powers of author Mark Haddon and narrator Tim McInnerny collide in an awesome display. The emotional center of the work is a girl whose harsh entry into the world merely foreshadowed an even more disturbing life to come. She escapes that life by way of story, and we soon enter into her own very personal... Read More

For a story built on first impressions, perceptions, and secrets, tonal variety is key. Narrator Soneela Nankani does a beautiful job with the nuances in this fresh take on the Jane Austen classic. Chef DJ Caine is hospitable but steely to Dr. Trisha Raje after their disastrous initial meeting. The two are thrown together constantly by a series of circumstances, and there's an... Read More

Ramon Tikaram's richly nuanced narration of this provocative novel keeps listeners thinking. After being in an accident and having been passed over for the Nobel Prize in Economics, droll and opinionated 69-year-old Professor Chandrasekhar takes a sabbatical from Cambridge University and relocates to California, close to where his youngest daughter lives with her mother and... Read More

Resolved: Writer Candice Carty-Williams is the writer of her generation; Queenie, its character; and Shvorne Marks, its voice. Marks gives a power performance as millennial Queenie, and Brits of various origins and accents: Pakistan, Uganda, Jamaica, and all the UK. You'd listen to Marks read web code, she voices this audiobook so magnetically. To wit: Queenie's group-texts... Read More

Tavia Gilbert tells Emma's story, reading from the journal of this fictional character and giving her a believable voice with a wide range of emotions. Shelly Wood places 17-year-old Emma, a midwife-in-training, at the northern Ontario farm of the Dionne family when the world was captivated by the birth of five identical baby girls. Emma has a young, eager voice full of... Read More

Svetlana Alliluyeva, Joseph Stalin's daughter, may be mostly forgotten now, but narrator Kathleen Gati brings her to life in this audiobook. The audiobook tells her story through her fictional journals. Narrator Mark Bramhall is equally fine as the fictionalized lawyer who brings Svetlana to the U.S. The novel is mostly true to history, with a few changed names, and the... Read More

Three uniquely talented narrators--Aisling Bea, Lara Sawalha, and Adjoa Andoh--take listeners through 30 short stories featuring the many ways women show their compassionate and resourcefulness in a difficult world. Each story includes a bit of magical realism, plenty of wordplay, and an enjoyable drama that reveals the strength of women. The multiple narrators give listeners... Read More

This audiobook collection sparkles with wit and wisdom. Mostly set in Denver, Colorado, these short stories present a range of narrative styles that give them individuality and create a unique listening experience. In the title story, narrator Roxana Ortega vividly portrays various female characters, mainly Mexican-Americans. Marisol Ramirez, does excellent work in "Any Further... Read More

Narrator Justine Eyre channels an uncertain and wistful teenager. Restless and hungry for adventure, 17-year-old Luisa, who lives in Mexico City, impulsively decides to run off to an Oaxacan beach with an acquaintance named Tomás. Starting with the dubious aim of finding a troupe of Ukrainian dwarves who have recently disappeared from a Soviet circus touring Mexico, Luisa is... Read More

Jennifer Lim narrates this novel clearly and deliberately. Young teacher Maggie Topper finds inspiration in a sixth-grade student with health problems whom she has agreed to tutor. Bright, young Yuri emigrated from Ukraine with his parents in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster. Even in the face of his medical condition, he maintains a curiosity and wisdom that prompt Maggie to... Read More

The slow build of this audiobook may seem a bit off-putting at first, but it soon becomes obvious that the mounting tension and gradual reveals are intentional. They're an important part of understanding just how twisted and complicated the relationship at the heart of the story truly is. Narrator Victoria Hamilton is masterful at creating two distinct characters: celebrity... Read More

In this long-awaited collection of short stories--Hempel's last title was published more than a decade ago--there is a gorgeous matter-of-factness to her narration, a graceful simplicity that creates an almost hypnotic pattern among these distinct stories. Whether characters are pondering animal or human relationships, conflicts or resolutions, gains or (more often) losses,... Read More

Despite the challenges--an unreliable narrator, an intricate plot, a shifting timeline, and myriad characters--Stephanie Racine gives a flawless narration of this audiobook. Amber's story begins, simply enough, with a brief confession: She is in a coma, her husband doesn't love her anymore, and sometimes she lies. Wait--what? Made to feel off-balance from the start, listeners... Read More

Two distinctive settings are perfectly evoked in Nancy Linari and Paul Boehmer's superb narration of this philosophical and affecting novel. The story is told in alternating chapters that are linked by the character Matthew Miller, a lawyer who is the host of a sensational 1990s daytime television talk show. Linari skillfully brings listeners into the behind-the-scenes... Read More

Portrayed by narrator George Newbern in this audiobook, Professor Mark Sternum teaches his beloved creative writing workshop, deals with faculty politics, and struggles with loneliness as his longtime partner works works overseas for six months. Teaching is Mark's love and his escape, both of which Newbern expertly conveys in his narration. The story is full of Mark's course... Read More

A powerful narrator, Rebekkah Ross takes listeners through the twists and turns of a thriller with a California edge. Shortly after her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Ezra, disappears, Rebecca, a middle-aged architect, searches for answers to what could have happened to him. The police seem strangely unconcerned, even as an article begins circulating the Internet about a viral... Read More

Narrator Khristine Hvam is perfect as the voice of young Ph.D. student Anna Brisker, who finds herself struggling to complete her dissertation. Unable to please her academic advisor, her productivity diminishes, and her reputation declines. When she crosses paths with Helen, the niece of a legendary author, Anna seizes an opportunity. Freddy Langley was a popular writer who... Read More

Cassandra Campbell narrates so well that even math-phobes will stay with this story of Katherine, a prodigy who is on a heroic quest to find her place in the male-dominated field of mathematics. In the 1960s, Katherine is one of few female graduate students in mathematics at MIT. The men in her department either ignore what she says or sense her genius and take advantage of... Read More

Narrator Therese Plummer shines in her entertaining portrayals of the Kesslers, a famous yet dysfunctional family whose members struggle to find stability and acceptance. Listeners will be introduced to the family members' strengths and weaknesses. Janine can't find an identity now that she's outgrown her career as a child actor; her father, Marty, a retired producer, is back... Read More

Between them, narrators Bahni Turpin and Dominic Hoffman create a panoply of striking characters in Regina Porter's cornucopia of a novel. Spanning America's complex history between the 1950s and President Obama's first year in office, the story introduces two families--one black, one white--whose lives intersect repeatedly over the years. The loosely knit plot and frequently... Read More

Simon Vance crafts subtle characters and an engaging narrative as he delivers this mysterious novel, often considered one of Ishiguro's most elusive. With his understated reading and careful pacing, Vance maintains Ishiguro's curious sense of the uncanny while allowing his eccentric characters to emerge with dynamism and clarity. From the protagonist's confusion and unease to... Read More

Narrator Soneela Nankani is the principal performer of this audiobook about three British sisters who travel to India to honor their mother's deathbed request to scatter her ashes in the sacred waters of her homeland. Rajni, a conservative educator; Jezmeen, a struggling actress; and Shirnia, a newlywed living in Australia, haven't always gotten along, so it's with mixed... Read More

Krause's whimsical linked stories melding fantasy and reality feature a series of seemingly disparate offbeat characters who are facing the challenges of mental issues such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and dementia. Narrator Janet Metzger adopts a Canadian accent while bringing these Saskatchewan-based characters to life. She skillfully helps to distinguish... Read More

Listeners follow the story of a quirky and eccentric family as seen through the eyes of an unnamed boy and the journals of his father. Set in France and Spain during the second half of the twentieth century, this touching tale of deep love and growing mental illness is liberally sprinkled with rhyme. The narration by Gibson Frazier allows the rhymes to appear naturally to the... Read More

Narrator Mozhan Marno gives a sultry tone to Nunu's coming-of-age story, set in Paris. She delivers Nunu's inner monologue in a contemplative tone that underscores her ruminations on a childhood spent in Istanbul. Marno orients us to the story's deep introspection with a steady pace and precise enunciation. We are taken through the protagonist's memories of idyllic family... Read More

This audiobook is a remarkable combination of extraordinary writing and superb narrating. Dubus is a master storyteller, and the narrators who perform this collection of short stories are some of the best in the business. The result is an amazing listening experience. Each narrator is up to the task of taking on Dubus's stories, which cover love and loss, friendships and... Read More

Narrator Nyasha Hatendi's deliberate pacing and expressive voice capture the mournful, chilly atmosphere of this unusual historical mystery told in reverse by a local priest named John Reve. It is 1491, in Oakham, England, and wealthy Thomas Newman has drowned just before Lent. Was it murder, suicide, or an accident? John Reve hears everyone's confessions--their secrets, lies,... Read More

Narrator Niall Buggy gives voice to 84-year-old Maurice Hannigan in Anne Griffin's debut novel. We meet him at the bar of the local hotel where he is raising a glass and a toast to each of the five people most important to his life. Through these toasts, Hannigan tells his story. Buggy's Irish brogue, pacing, and emotion are impeccable as the listener is transported to the bar... Read More

In this audiobook, narrator Kyla Garcia provides the voice of Beatriz Perez, a young Cuban sugar heiress living in exile. It is the 1960s, and in Florida the world is changing daily. As Beatriz tries to adjust to all she has lost--family, home, fortune--she becomes consumed by thoughts of revenge and become involved with the CIA. Garcia embraces the drama that defines Beatriz... Read More

Delivering the points of view of multiple characters can be a challenge for a narrator. Joshilyn Jackson, however, skillfully portrays a large group of characters as she recounts the solemn days that follow a small-town tragedy. As the story unfolds, Jackson depicts more than 16 individuals--from young cheerleader Leah to middle-aged restaurant manager Clay. Jackson's... Read More

This brief novel--shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize--is a haunting meditation on loss and memory, movingly narrated by Jennifer Kim. Even though the unnamed narrator of the story is a successful author, she reflects on her life and how aimless she has become. In many passages she ponders the color white--snow, an empty sheet of white paper, an infant's swaddling clothes. She... Read More

This story is told in chapters from the first-person perspectives of the protagonists, and narrators Dara Rosenberg and Christine Lakin adeptly create a well-crafted and seamless listening experience. It's a delicate, minutely observed account of a short-lived but intense romance between two women in their twenties, Willa and Hesper. Rosenberg and Lakin each voice Jewish... Read More

This audiobook offers something unexpected: a story about women, narrated by a man. A colony of Mennonite women who have been assaulted by male colonists must decide how to respond. They come together in a meeting at which minutes are being taken by a man named August Epp. Portraying the eight female characters with seeming ease, narrator Matthew Edison makes the most of a... Read More

Narrator Kirby Heyborne captures the ennui of this millennial coming-of-age story involving questions of privilege and responsibility, ambivalence and agency. The story is set at an elite boarding school in New England. At the center is Ben, a smart-enough and popular-enough student who, like many of his classmates, falls under the spell of Mr. LaVerdere, the school's... Read More