Tavia Gilbert expertly narrates this revealing memoir by Annie Ernaux, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2022. Gilbert masterfully inhabits Ernaux's inner life by revealing the angst and sensuality of the affair she had four decades ago, as revealed in her journal entries. Gilbert's conversational tone is ideal for the interior monologues in this work. Ernaux is a meticulous notetaker. Her Russian apparatchik lover keeps his socks on while they make love, wears French designer clothes, and wants her, in part, because of her literary fame. This self-portrait of Ernaux, who was 12 years older than her Soviet amour, is told chronologically and unsparingly. Ironically, the ending section, where the sex is just a memory, reveals rich elements of her life as a public intellectual.
Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
Duration: 7 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781666629170
Publisher: Dreamscape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
James Michener tells the real stories behind the man and his books. The recording is read with skill and consistency although the reader does little to enhance the robust, larger-than-life incidents related in the book. Due to the first-person narrative format, there is no opportunity for the narrator to change his voice. This makes some chapters monotonous as they go on and on in the typical Michener style. The listener may also become confused because the stories are not told chronologically. This is not a great choice for the audio format, but Michener fans may stick with it to the end.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In a quest for a sense of inner contentment and self-worth, Gloria Steinem brings the reader on a journey of investigation and discovery. Steinem reads the text herself in a straightforward and friendly, but not intimate, presentation which is so easy to listen to it invites repetition--thus ensuring the painless relearning of the lessons of the book. It's difficult to tell from the reading that this audiobook is abridged; each section can stand alone. Nonetheless, the listener wished the book were unabridged. Steinem left me wanting to learn more.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Dove Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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