THE YELLOW WALLPAPER

Narrator Beata Pozniak's captivating accent and likable style are ideal for this seminal feminist short story (1892). An unnamed woman is suffering from postnatal "temporary nervous depression," according to her husband, a doctor, who believes he knows what's best for her: strict isolation and bed rest. Pozniak faultlessly delivers journal entries that express the woman's longing to see her baby and to go outside. She is kept in a room with yellow wallpaper, whose eerie designs eventually appear to come alive. Impressive sound effects--for example, the wallpaper's movements and sounds, as well as the woman's breathing--augment Pozniak's voice as it slides into notes of terror. Those elements and a riveting conclusion demonstrate that audiobooks can be as horrifying as anything on the screen. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2021]