LIFE BETWEEN THE TIDES

English actor Leighton Pugh’s engaging midrange voice, which is both crisp and warm, is the perfect accompaniment to Adam Nicolson’s consideration of life in those intertidal rock pools particularly beloved by children—and grown-ups like Nicolson, an award-winning author, naturalist, and historian. Audibly curious and awed, Pugh’s attentive pacing and sheer friendliness channel Nicolson’s delight in the tidal universes where “disturbed creatures jump away as chaotically as bubbles in champagne” and the hormones of dominant female sand hoppers inhibit the development of their rivals’ ovaries. Yeah, whoa. Full of such astonishing information, this tender ode to nature also offers lessons on existence learned from the existences studied by Nicolson, including, “Life is tidal, full of loss and arrival, a thing that makes and ebbs.” A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2022 Best Audiobook © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2022]