Madeleine McCarthy is 8 years old when her family moves to a quiet air force base in Ontario in the early '60s. Madeleine's personal life of new school friends, Brownies, unusual neighbors, and a sexually abusive teacher is set amidst the political environment of the Cold War, the Cuban missile crisis, and the space race. Ann-Marie MacDonald reads her own work, successfully evoking the wonder and imagination of a child. Her calm, dulcet tones deepen the tragedy of a local murder and corresponding miscarriage of justice. The truth is devastating. MacDonald's male British accents are slightly wobbly, but Madeleine's mother, Mimi, has a pitch-perfect French-Canadian accent.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2003
Duration: 25 hrs
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ayla, one of the "others," is adopted by a clan of Neanderthal cave people. She struggles to conform to their ways, but her advanced human traits overwhelm and threaten their primitive culture in this initial installment of an immensely popular series. Although the story might benefit from abridgment, Rowena Cooper easily carries out the formidable task of enlivening the mostly silent and stereotypical characters with consistent, diverse personalities and human dimension. Through skillful phrasing and inflection, she maintains the reader's interest and suspense, especially with Ayla and her plight, throughout this rambling and imaginative story.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This lyrical, sensual novel of woman's lot in Manchu, China, is as well researched as it is well written. Authentic in tone, it's nonetheless written for Westerners by a Western expert on China. Moreover, Susan Clark performs the demanding text superbly, with only occasional signs of fatigue. For the most part she not only sustains the quaint diction and Asian atmosphere, but also, creates whole worlds with her voice. She acts the book, rather than reads it, and, in so doing, turns a pretty trifle into a stupendous beauty.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Literature
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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