STRANGER THAN FICTION Lives of the Twentieth-Century Novel

In fewer than 20 hours, this insightful, deeply immersive audiobook offers a full education on the 20th-century novel. The author is an esteemed "New York Review of Books" editor; here he distills a lifetime of reading and reflection. His narrative is probing and eclectic, covering a wide range of links and parallels while focusing on 30 or so significant novels. Narrator BJ Harrison contributes a skilled, pleasing voice, but not one as distinctive and nuanced as the assignment requires. A narrative that sprints from Dostoevsky to Wells, from Gide to Woolf to Marquez and back again, demands a certain gravitas and singularity. This is a history best listened to in chapters, over weeks rather than days, with ample time for digestion. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2025]