New Reviews: Fiction

At the heart of this audiobook about how communities can heal a broken heart is Efren "Chino" Flores, a middle school teacher who has moved back to his California hometown in the wake of a personal tragedy. Andrew Joseph Perez brings a natural warmth to Chino's story. His voice is defined by liveliness that lifts up the joyful moments and softens the heavy ones. Each person in... Read More

Narrators Soneela Nankani and Amanda Leigh Cobb deliver a story told from the alternating perspectives of two friends downtrodden by life. Former activist and current professor Emily is disappointed by her students. Liv is a real estate agent whose success is hindered by her people-pleasing ways. Emily and Liv are shaken after witnessing an attempted robbery and join Fearless... Read More

Beep is a monkey, and in Bill Roorbach's offbeat fantasy tale, he's the central narrator, communicating to the listener in a kind of childlike animal-speak akin to his species. Roorbach provides the words and voice to this amusing and disorienting story about the relationship between nature and humans. Listeners follow Beep's travels from his homeland to New York with young... Read More

Nearly all of these 20 stories are better heard than read. Guest editor Lauren Groff vied for "rawer, meaner, spikier" stories that have their own "weird logic." Her choices are striking and unpredictable but tend to ramble over stretches of time without much suspense or dramatic resolution. This diverse ensemble brings variety, contrast, and narrative vigor that is mostly... Read More

Glen Powell leads a full cast in this polished production, which embraces the rom-com formula with a twist. Nathan's skill is ghost- writing, in particular, providing men the necessary words and stage presence to fully communicate their feelings when they give the Best Man toast. The market is rich for this service as men notoriously don't have the words to connect with their... Read More

Narrator Rachel Atkins conveys the heartbreak, pain, and confusion experienced by Sarajevans under siege during the first year of the Bosnian War in 1992. Artist Zora Koovi chooses to stay in Sarajevo even as family members flee, bombs begin to fall, and snipers wreak havoc from nearby rooftops and hills. Atkins provides a pitch-perfect performance, capturing Zora's love for... Read More

This audiobook immerses listeners in a fictionalized season in the life of a black-throated blue warbler, chronicling a female bird's trials and tribulations in undertaking migration, finding a mate, and interacting with other birds. Narrator Jess Moran's small, feminine voice complements the petite stature of the lead character in this avian drama. Sporting a band on her leg,... Read More

Gisela Chípe provides a mesmerizing narration of this debut novella from the National Book Award-winning translator of THE WORDS THAT REMAIN. At a Vermont college, an unnamed young woman sits before a computer screen Skyping with her mother, who lives in Brazil. Chípe's light musical tone captures the independent young woman's hopeful, thoughtful persona, while her mother's... Read More

Anna Johnston's prose is rich and vivid, and is wonderfully paired with the narration of Tim Carroll. Listeners follow the story of Frederick Fife, a man rich in kindness for others but poor in every other way. At 82, he has no one to give his kindness to until, after an odd case of mistaken identity, he ends up in the shoes of grumpy Bernard Greer at a nursing home. Denise... Read More

Jesse Vilinsky is exceptional at sounding like a kid who is excited about Christmas and sees the best in everyone. Ronja, age 10, is growing up in Oslo with her older sister, Melissa, and an alcoholic father. Ronja's dad gets a job selling Christmas trees but quickly loses it to the call of the pub. When Melissa takes over his job, Ronja uses her waif-like appearance to sell... Read More

Colm Tóibín's appealing 2009 novel receives an exemplary performance from Saoirse Ronan. Set in Ireland and Brooklyn in the 1950s, the story unfolds with Ronan's lilting voice and lush pronunciations allowing both Ireland and Brooklyn to become vivid locales. Ronan's sensitive delivery highlights Ellis Lacey's emotional connection to her tiny Irish village and to her mother and... Read More

Heller returns to the beauty and challenges of the wilderness in his latest audiobook. This time hunters and lifelong friends Jess and Storey encounter the deadliest and most unpredictable of predators: man. Mark Deakins delivers an excellent performance. He captures the intense action without tipping into cliché, and his pacing is perfectly attuned to the story in which Maine... Read More

Billie Fulford-Brown and Laura Benanti narrate alternating chapters in this dual-timeline novel about two playwrights: one history's most famous writer, the other a contemporary unknown. In 1581, Emilia Bassano is the actual author of the great plays now attributed to the Stratford glove-maker's son, William Shakespeare. In the present, Melina Green is a playwright who is... Read More

Narrator Amy Landon invites listeners behind the curtain of the ballet world in this vivid and intimate novel. Celebrated ballerina Natalia Leonova returns to the St. Petersburg stage after two years in recovery from an accident. Landon's crisp voice breathes life into Natalia's inner monologues. Landon smoothly pronounces the Russian and French vocabulary of Natalia's jet-set... Read More

In this debut novel, Jessica Regan becomes the voice of every woman who has ever struggled for personal freedom amid limited choices. Set in the mid-nineties in Ireland, the story focuses on three women who are in troubled marriages. With divorce illegal at the time, they labor to make their own choices--despite the men who control them and, ultimately, the outcomes of their... Read More

Fans of stories about mismatched people are certain to enjoy Brian Craig's narration of this novel. Hank is a curmudgeon who mostly wants to be left alone, except for one last attempt to rekindle a very brief, very one-sided high school romance. Luis is a good-natured guy living in unfortunate but not insurmountable circumstances. Together, the pair make an odd couple, and... Read More

Narrator Kristen Ariza lends her expert skills to this intimate character study. The story follows Jane, a biracial author who is struggling with finishing her novel, which she believes to be revolutionary. She moves her family near Hollywood, where she meets a producer who wants to make her book into a television show. Jane is a complex character who is often skeptical, and... Read More

Golden Voice Kate Reading captures the foolish and the wise in this charming story of a Jewish village. When twins are born to the Cohen family, their mother quickly discovers that the male twin is receiving more attention and affection from the community than her little daughter. When Mrs. Cohen is invited to join a secret group of wise women, she soon learns the ways they use... Read More

It's hard to imagine anyone other than Rachel Kushner narrating her gripping and highly original novel about an unconventional spy. Sadie is hired by governments and unnamed private entities to infiltrate radical eco and industrial terrorist groups. She is now in France, where she is blending into a group of potentially violent animal rights activists with a brewing plot... Read More

Fans of the popular "Mystery Science Theater 3000" TV series will delight in listening to Frank Conniff narrate his own novel, essentially a clever, sardonic comic monologue. The over-the-top bleakness of the darkest superhero movies--the films that took the fun out of Batman--are mercilessly and wittily mocked throughout. Dark Apnea, a would-be superhero in a sleep apnea mask... Read More

This thought-provoking audiobook is made up of short stories that reimagine Greek myths, as well as dystopian stories. All celebrate the enduring power of storytelling. An ensemble of narrators gives life to eight stories that tackle themes of family, brutality, humanity, love, identity, and mortality. Particularly compelling are "The Mother's Story," a retelling of the story... Read More

This novel tells the story of a mega-rich octogenarian and a 33-year-old Black woman. Audie Award winner Nicole Lewis is an excellent narrator who does subtle gradations of tone and tempo. She makes an excellent guide to the gilded world in this story of wealth and aspiration, race and power. The plot involves Vassar-educated Brooke Orr; Lewis gets her sound and style. Orr goes... Read More

This family saga set in Venezuela follows political movements in the 1960s and the 1990s, and their effects on the lives of Stanislavo; Emiliana; Maria; and her son, Eloy. Four narrators take turns delivering the story of Stanislavo, which takes place in the jungles of northeastern Venezuela in 1964 as he participates in a leftist uprising and forms a relationship with... Read More

The three Japanese actors in this charming collection of linked short stories offer sympathetic and generally successful interpretations of everyone from heartsick people to talking cats. While actor Sadao Ueda's strong Japanese accent and halting rhythm can occasionally distance listeners from characters, he narrates with warmth and appreciation for the audiobook's wisdoms.... Read More

After suffering several miscarriages, Irene Willard, now pregnant again in 1948, finds herself at a home/institution for expectant mothers who have had difficulties with pregnancy. Narrator Carlotta Brentan's slight, scratchy voice fits the fragile condition of the women. She provides lower pitched voices for the male characters when they do appear in this largely... Read More

Alex Howard's endearing narration illuminates the time travel of a 15-year-old male cat living in 1887. After his death, Grimalkin spends his remaining eight lives in the supernatural realm, visiting the same Edinburgh tenement in 1902, 1930, 1942, 1953, 1969, 1997, 2008, and 2022. Howard's performance highlights Grimalkin's charming, sometimes cantankerous personality through... Read More

Karen Chilton's and Kirby Heyborne's performances bring a distinctive energy to this unique story about two talent agents who are chasing soccer's next rising star. Mark is bored yet intrigued by his brother's mission to find the elusive star, Godwin. Heyborne as Mark, captures the man's internal conflicts and decisions in a reflective tone that fits the character's... Read More

In Mary Jones's debut short story collection, narrator Suzanne Freeman embraces her vocal task simply, her careful diction allowing each story to shine. Each brief work deals with the universal experiences of separation, departure, loss, or abandonment. The wide variety of stories varies in length--with some just a few minutes long, some many minutes more--and each is instantly... Read More

An ensemble cast performs a story of love and loss. Dara and Austin are just weeks from their wedding when Austin is given life-changing news. Their wedding is called off, and Dara hesitates to tell her family what has caused this rift. She travels to California and South Carolina, hoping to find solace. Austin flies home to the fate that awaits him in London. Told from... Read More

Celebrated Canadian poet and novelist Anne Michaels has written an exquisite novel (shortlisted for the Booker Prize) that looks at love, loss, and human connection. Michaels's intimate delivery and empathetic tone serve her bittersweet and elegiac text well. Starting in 1917 with a battlefield explosion, her exploration of characters during troubled times spans a century and... Read More

Narrators Caroline Lee and Geraldine Hakewill weave the threads of this tense exploration of free will. Everyone on a delayed flight across Australia is tired and frustrated as they await reaching their destination. Suddenly, a nondescript woman stands and begins pointing to fellow passengers and stating how they will die and when. She won't remember this later--when the... Read More

Cynthia Nixon tells this story of loss with empathy and compassion. Magda is taking the road trip her best friend, Sara, had planned for the two of them--she's traveling with an urn containing Sara's remains. Except for the hint of Sweden in one character's voice, Nixon doesn't employ accents to identify characters. Instead, her amazing ability to insert emotions into their... Read More

Not many 13-year-olds have favorite mathematicians, but Jamie O'Neill is not an ordinary 13-year-old. He's a math genius; he's stuck mourning the loss of his mother, who died when he was born; he's on the spectrum; and he's voiced by the very fine Gary Furlong. Jamie and his father, Eoin (Owen), live in a small fishing town on the west coast of Ireland, where Jamie is starting... Read More

Employing a calm, straightforward delivery, English actor Christian Coulson nicely balances the author's fine ear for language and spirited descriptions with this novel's tangled plot and boisterous LGBTQ+ humor. In a 24-hour period, a lonely, clever 23-year-old who still lives with his mother sets out in search of a package he wants no one to see; meets a menagerie of... Read More

As an audiobook, Hamya's low-key novel might easily have employed two narrators--or even a third. The action revolves around the opening of Sophia's play, which is attended by her father, a novelist who is appalled when he finds himself depicted as a crass philanderer while they were on their vacation together in Italy when Sophia was a teenager. During the performance Sophia... Read More

Drawing inspiration from BLACK MIRROR, THE MATRIX, and 1984, this debut audiobook takes listeners inside the evolving world of AI with a dystopian twist. Although it's set in a world of cutting-edge tech, it is a deeply human story, and Joe Knezevich's narration imbues it with warmth and subtlety. When a tech start-up creates an algorithm that can change events in the real... Read More

Raffi and Britt are queer and extremely intelligent. Both are portrayed well by Natalie Naudus and Xe Sands. As a cosmologist, Raffi is searching for dark matter and longs to spend every free moment with Britt, a queer sculptor. Naudus and Sands provide strong performances in this speculative fiction, which explores parallel worlds; complex women who fracture into hordes of... Read More

Eanna Hardwicke's narration highlights the rich emotionality of Rooney's newest novel. Hardwicke's smooth voice shifts to capture every mood--becoming desperately angry, bitter, and frantic yet also achingly tender, patient, and loving--as he performs a story of two grieving brothers. Peter and Ivan's father has died, leaving them unmoored and their relationship strained. Peter... Read More

Comic Trevor Noah is the author and narrator of this delightful fable in four parts. A boy decides to run away from home with his beloved bear, rather than submit to the unreasonable bed-making and personal hygiene demands of his mother. Noah creates unique, kind voices for the boy, the bear, and the friends they meet in the uncut grass--a garden gnome, two snails, and a pile... Read More

Anyone can have a bad day, but Jenny's bad day is exceptional in this audiobook. Beth Eyre's sweet, lilting voice is ideal as she portrays the young, single mother whose hard-won, modest, and independent lifestyle is in jeopardy, thanks to a series of unfortunate developments. Eyre offers excellent pacing, and her comic timing suits Jenny well, especially in her conversations... Read More

Andrew Byron's voice sets the scene of a historic city with a culture steeped in both Europe and the East. His performance is transporting, embedding listeners in the city of Lviv, Ukraine. This fascinating place and its impact on its residents is the heartbeat of this quietly moving audiobook. Deeply drawn characters, including aging hippies, a former secret policeman, and a... Read More

Actor, filmmaker, and author Edward Burns's narration features gentle humor and an unmistakable Long Island accent. His novel takes listeners on a bright-eyed and bittersweet tour of a sensitive child's recollections of growing up in the outer reaches of New York City in the 1970s. The novel seamlessly weaves tales of his 1940s immigrant grandparents; his stern father, a cop;... Read More

Hanako Footman's delicate tones resonate with the otherworldly atmosphere of this short novel about revisiting cherished memories. Footman sustains the intrigue regarding Mr. Hirasaka, an affable guide of the afterlife who owns a fantastical photo studio somewhere between life and death. Although he assists each of the three characters--an old woman, a gangster, and a girl--to... Read More

A supremely talented cast narrates 12 short works that could only have originated from master storyteller/director Pedro Almodóvar. This first collection ranges from personal essays--there's one about the death of his mother--to a fascinating retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" that revolves around the Spanish Queen Juana la Loca. Fans of Almodóvar's work will recognize the story... Read More

Narrator Annie Maynard's comfortable tone and Australian accent set the scene for this audiobook. Kerryn Mayne's debut introduces listeners to Lenny Marks, a fifth-grade teacher in her mid-30s. When a letter from her parole board addressed to Helena Winters is delivered to her school, Lenny's long-buried past is resurrected. Maynard injects humor and pathos as she brings this... Read More

Narrator Mia Barron displays deft timing and impressive range in her performance of this story of a blockbuster author beset by writer's block and her biggest fan. When early-onset dementia overtakes 40-year-old Libby Weeks, she's desperate enough to seek out 11-year-old Peanut, whose persistent fan mail suggests she might be able to help Libby finally complete the much-delayed... Read More

While listening to this audiobook, one must believe the impossible is possible--maybe even probable. The otherworldly story begins with an email from a despondent college student, Morris, to his former math teacher, Grace. Jordan Stephens narrates the gloomy email, and listeners feel his pain. Grace responds by telling her amazing story of how she, at age 72, found new energy... Read More

Bahni Turpin's performance takes listeners to that time in the early 1990s when the world was changing and the latest alternative rock bands were everything. Jane meets burgeoning rock star Elijah in an Internet chat room, a connection that leads to a deep professional and personal bond. They form The Lightning Bottles and amass a devoted fan base, with Jane providing the... Read More

Rebecca Lowman superbly narrates this messy multigenerational story of ambition and intergenerational trauma. Lowman's tones of indignation and ruthlessness capture Lila, executive editor of a prestigious Washington, DC, newspaper. After enduring a brutal childhood, Lila's focus is on her career; she leaves the care of her three daughters to her supportive husband, Joe. Her... Read More

Eunice Wong's narration of this debut novel captures the essence of its story with a perfect deadpan tone. Linh Ly is confronted with a multitude of challenges that disrupt her routine. First, she finds herself coping with her mother's new dating life and with an active shooter lockdown at work. She's also experiencing palpable anxiety as she grapples with her past, family... Read More

Adepero Oduye and Chukwudi Iwuji perform this whirlwind story told by a group of characters who are all connected by the events of a single night. In an unnamed city in Nigeria, Kalu attends a sex party to help him forget that his girlfriend, Aima, has just left him. But everything goes wrong, and Kalu finds himself sucked into the city's seedy underbelly with no way out. Oduye... Read More

Golden Voice Narrator January LaVoy becomes the characters of Troy, Georgia, as they face off on the issue of banning books in libraries. Lula Dean, the prime book banner, fills her little free library with "wholesome books." Little does she know that her rival, Beverly Underwood's daughter, Lindsay, put banned books beneath the wholesome book jackets. Oh, my! LaVoy imbues... Read More

Those who listen to this audiobook will join a group of friends lost to time. It's been 25 years since the last meeting of the Midnight Club. The old group of friends who bonded over the campus literary magazine have returned to campus, where they're also bonded by having experienced something sinister all those years ago--the death of their friend, Jennet. A mysterious... Read More

Most very good novels, like this one, cover a broad range of subjects, but they also often focus on some specific questions about human existence--in this case, what we do for love and how we recover from that. Narrator Marin Ireland manages to keep everything in this novel tied together without creating voices for all the numerous characters. She trusts the text to tell us who... Read More

An Albanian interpreter in New York City becomes more and more involved in the life of her client, Alfred. They develop a speedy intimacy as she interprets personal information in a therapy session that leads to some challenging moments in her marriage. Narrator Morgan Hallett employs accents to distinguish the Albanian characters and adopts a relaxed pace. Her tone... Read More

Narrator Abigail Reno transports listeners to November 1957 and a dysfunctional marriage. The story begins on an unseasonably warm fall day. Kathleen decides to skip church and instead sends her boys and her husband, Virgil, out of the house for the day. As Kathleen reflects on how she went from college tennis star to homemaker and mother, Virgil spends the day reflecting on... Read More

A trio of talented narrators brings the story of these independent women to life. When grandmother Olvido dies suddenly, her daughter, Angustias, and granddaughter, Felicitas, travel home. Olvido pesters Felicitas, who is able to see the dead, to improve Angustias's life. Yareli Arizmendi portrays Olvido as she ages from domineering mother to caring grandmother with a deep... Read More

Sophia's current beau, the man of her dreams, surprises her with a cruise to the Galapagos Islands. Just as they are boarding, he gets an "emergency" call from his ex-wife and tells Sophia he can't go. At his insistence, she decides to go alone. Narrator Erin Bennett gives a great performance, delving into Sophia's ruminations with excellent pacing and varying tones that reveal... Read More

Narrator Julia Whelan portrays Nora Noone with an earnest tone in this gripping family drama. Nora's father, Liam, a thrice-married hotel magnate, has become distant from his grown children. After recently changing his will, he falls from a slippery cliff at a California seaside cottage. Did he slip, or was he pushed? Whelan voices Nora's estranged stepbrother, Sam, with a... Read More

This stunning collection of short stories is narrated beautifully by a quartet of gifted narrators who bring to life the reimagined lives of the nine-tailed fox of Asian folklore. As each story unfolds, the narrator imbues it with passion, sensuality, and a healthy dose of feminist perspective. Nancy Wu, Annie Q, Jen Zhao, and Eunice Wong have engaging and charming voices, and... Read More

With her vibrant and expressive delivery, Weruche Opia's narration elevates this family comedy about Temi, a young Nigerian woman who plans to have glute-enhancing surgery. Her ability to capture the distinct voices of Temi, her family, and the extended family of female characters adds depth to each personality, making the listener feel fully immersed in their world. Opia's... Read More

In practically his first audiobook credit, British actor Prasanna Puwanarajah delivers a masterful performance as David Win, the British Burmese protagonist in this latest by one of Britain's most esteemed novelists. Like earlier Hollinghurst protagonists, David is a prism: a gay outsider who is given entry into a world of wealth and privilege. The action is subdued, episodic,... Read More

In this audiobook thriller, women take action against violent men, cruel women, and a world that underestimates them and takes them for granted. Sisters Paula and Julie grow up with a vengeful mother, ultimately paying the price for her choices. Three narrators take turns voicing the lead as the story jumps around in time, making the shifts easy for listeners to manage. As... Read More

Narrator Ann Richardson performs this beautifully crafted story about female bonding, personal growth, and the transformative power of friendship. The audiobook alternates between the viewpoints of an aging, reclusive bestselling author, Inez, and her cleaner, Meja. Meja lacks direction in her life and comes to help Inez declutter her cottage in coastal Sweden. The story is... Read More

"The fate of continents is written in water," this audiobook professes, and the vital role of the ocean is at the heart of this expansive listening experience. Here, especially at the start, it is wise to let the narrators' words flow forth, immersing the listener in four central characters and the minute details that comprise their respective worlds. Sections lack titles or... Read More

While there's no doubt that effective parenting is priceless, this audiobook takes that idea to a new, disturbing, and often hilarious level. Eva Kaminsky is a vocal magician in this performance, spinning from a lifelike child's tone to a sharp satirical one in a flash. Annie is struggling to keep up with the upper echelons of New York City's parent scene. Her latest goal is to... Read More

The pervasive emotion of this audiobook is grievance, largely in the form of "Mom didn't love me enough." Three generations of Cohen women complain their way through four decades, finding different levels and varieties of success, largely without men. Stacey Glemboski brings the text to life with a vividly emotional reading, but the women tend to sound very much alike. They ARE... Read More

Atta Otigba maintains a steady and engaging narration of Able God's journey from hotel worker to fugitive migrant. Otigba draws listeners into Able's thoughts, giving us a clear sense of his fear when he is on the run and then falls into the hands of human traffickers. Otigba's pacing aligns well with the novel's tense moments, especially during Able's dangerous encounters.... Read More

Petey Gibson gives an exuberant and emotional performance of this charming queer love story about ghosts, grieving, and big family messes. Ezra has been able to see ghosts since his grandfather died when he was a kid, and he wants nothing to do with his family's Jewish funeral home. But when his mom announces she's leaving his dad for the rabbi's wife, he reluctantly agrees to... Read More

Lucy Scott masterfully delivers this intense account based on a true story. In Croydon, England, in 1964, while answering a domestic disturbance call, police discover an elderly woman in distress and her 37-year-old nephew, unkempt, nearly naked, fearful, and mute. William Tapping hasn't been out of the house in decades. Helen Hansford, an art therapist at Westbury Park... Read More

Narrator Christine Lakin balances the poignancy and humor in this 1990s story of three generations of strong, complicated women: Dale, a gritty veteran of five husbands who left her only child, Cherie; Marlys, her dying friend who is Cherie's stepmother; Cherie herself, now a confident, wealthy woman and "fixer"; and Laura, Cherie's pregnant daughter whose perfect life is... Read More

Narrator Zoë Chao takes listeners on a darkly humorous, violent fantasy ride. This fast-paced contemporary reimagining of Chinese mythology follows immortal sisters Su and Emerald, who were originally born as snakes. After a thousand years, they have drifted apart, with Su living a reserved married life in Singapore and Emerald living a wild life in New York City. Chao keeps... Read More

Narrators Natalie Beran, Ben Allen, and Helen Lloyd bring this charming story of unlikely friendship to life. After a horrible accident, Ned, a minor Internet celebrity, finds himself locked in his own body and struggling to communicate. Ben Allen gives a believable performance as a man who is struggling to be understood, even as his body betrays him. Mrs. Malley is shaken out... Read More

Garth Greenwell's narration of his intimate third novel is breathtaking. When a searing pain sends him into the ICU in the fall of 2020, an unnamed poet endures a period of fear, loneliness, unending medical humiliations, and surprising moments of tenderness. In his hospital bed, interacting with nurses and doctors and, once a day, his partner, L., he muses on his past and... Read More

Listeners will be moved by this compelling story about the immigrant experience in America and what it means to define our own lives. Narrator Junior Nyong'o voices Mamush, the son of Ethiopian immigrants. Facing a failing marriage, Mamush leaves his wife and son in Paris to visit his mother in Washington, DC. Upon arrival, he is told that Samuel, the man he considers a father... Read More

An ensemble cast performs this new short story collection from one of Argentina's most beloved authors. These dark tales often feature the magical, mysterious, and bizarre. All the stories feature women facing the harm of patriarchal structures that manifest otherworldly or supernatural entities or events. While all the stories are performed with attention to detail, one... Read More

Mikaela Hoover performs this wildly delightful novel about Iranian American fast-food heiresses who want to be TV stars. The four Milani sisters have very different reactions to learning that their reality television series is delayed because of COVID-19. Now the Milani family members are forced to spend all their time together, and tensions rise as they wonder if their... Read More

Narrator Kimberly Farr pretty much owns Elizabeth Strout's Maine characters at this point, and what a good thing that is. This quietly compelling novel brings together Strout's beloved, sometimes maddening, always vivid characters from multiple novels past, many of them also performed by Farr. Life and time have landed Bob Burgess and his wife, Margaret; Lucy Barton and her... Read More

African Caribbean dialect specialist Emana Rachelle introduces this immersive dystopian novel in a composed, intelligent tone. After 500 years of climate disasters, social unrest, and biological experimentation, an authoritarian society has arisen in the "Northwestern Hemisphere." It's divided between the DPs (dominant population) and a servant class of Invisibles, whose skin... Read More

Narrator Chante McCormick performs this audiobook about Mae, a biracial young woman who struggles with her identity, racism, family secrets, and how to re-create a lost family recipe for macaroni and cheese. McCormick skillfully adjusts her tone, pitch and accents to create the many characters in Mae's extended family. Mae is on a mission to unite her interracial family and... Read More

Emily Lawrence captures the snarky, often exasperated, voice of Bernadette Fareown as she looks back at her Midwest childhood. In the shadow of her free-spirited older sister, Joanne, Bernadette observes her parents' volatile marriage and the effects of generations of mental illness. The novel's setting is the 1980s farm crisis, which will permanently shape Bernadette's... Read More

Michelle Lee's narration of this compelling debut will immediately engage listeners. Abby Rodier grew up in foster care in the U.S. after being a "drop-box baby" in Korea. She was eventually taken in by her friend Iseul's family, and they remain connected as adults. She becomes a marine biologist and makes an unexpected discovery while studying sea slugs. Her research into the... Read More

Narrator Kristin Atherton brings us to the tiny South Atlantic island of Tuga de Oro, known for being the most remote British colony in the world. London vet Charlotte Walker accepts a fellowship to study the endangered gold coin tortoises there, and perhaps find out more about herself. The caliber of acting Atherton displays is truly laudable. She goes beyond assigning... Read More

Naruto Komatsu and Natsumi Kuroda perform this award-winning Japanese bestseller with conviction, warmth, and audible appreciation. In five whimsical stories, individual Kyoto residents find their way to a quirky clinic where they are unexpectedly prescribed a cat. Kuroda displays emotional range and witty timing in his performance of two stories. A disheartened accountant... Read More

Sally Phillips narrates an emotional story about a famous author who is dealing with a life-changing diagnosis, how she recovered, and how she learned to live her life to the fullest. Eve is a prominent novelist who wakes up in a hospital bed to hear she's had a malignant brain tumor removed. Now Eve must learn to walk, talk, and write again. She overcomes hardships and... Read More

What a treat it is to hear celebrated Irish actor Ger Ryan narrate Roddy Doyle's third Paula Spencer novel in her finest Dublin working-class brogue. It's 2020, the height of the Covid pandemic, and Paula finds herself locked down in her house with her oldest daughter, Nicola. They have a few things to talk about. Paula has survived an abusive husband and her own alcoholism,... Read More

Mara Wilson gives an elegant performance of this novel about the residents of a women's hotel in mid-twentieth-century New York City. Her clear enunciation and careful pacing keep listeners oriented as the narrative sometimes abruptly shifts between the women's backstories and present-day lives. The plot begins with Mrs. Mossler, the hotel's long-term manager, who secured her... Read More

Narrator Stephen Thorne's nuanced narration is ideal for this comic depiction of a society in chaos. Listeners will enjoy its emphasis on the ridiculous. During Dan's first vacation in a decade, the sun explodes, and the resort where he's staying is plunged into darkness. A social hierarchy quickly takes hold in which Building A, with the most amenities and wealthiest guests,... Read More