Rasha Zamamiri's captivating performance of this timely audiobook will enchant listeners. Poetry, mysticism, and Persian folklore infuse a story that alternates between war-torn Iran in the early 1980s and San Diego and then Iran again in 2009. The narrative centers on Kimia, an Iranian-American life coach. She agrees to travel to Iran with her mother, a poet who remains traumatized by the war. Memories flood back to Kimia, some joyful and others painful. She recollects her childhood home and friends, as well as the Iranian policies that established restrictions on women's freedom. Zamamiri expresses the emotional core of each character, and her accents and pronunciation of Farsi words are impeccable. Listeners will feel they are in step with Kamia at every moment.
Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2022
Duration: 11 hrs, 45 mins
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Whelan is a genius when it comes to tone, pitch, and delivery.
Julia Whelan’s deliberate and alluring voice places the listener smack in the middle of Serle's magical novel of the Novak women and the "do-over" gift each receives just once in their lifetime. Third-generation Lauren revisits her childhood home of Malibu Beach after her husband, Leo, decides to take a new job and rent out their New York apartment for months. As Lauren spends more time with her family and is reacquainted with her first love, Stone, she takes the summer to contemplate the serious question: "What if I chose this life event to reverse instead of that one?"
Whelan is a genius when it comes to tone, pitch, and delivery.Pub Date: March 10, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 50 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668103005
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2026
Narrators Jason Culp, Greta Jung, and Erin Ruth Walker present three distinct portraits in this literary story set on a cruise ship in the week after 9/11. Culp channels regret and loneliness through Doug Clayton, an aging actor who has spent a lifetime behind a mask. Jung infuses resentment and tension into Korean American Franny as she navigates a celebration for her mother's 70th birthday. Walker brings out frustration in Lucy, a Black MIT graduate student confronting barriers to acceptance. Against the tragic backdrop of 9/11, the novel sensitively explores issues around gender, race, and sexuality as well as questions of identity, family, and friendship. A slow-burning, character-driven story elevated by three compelling performances.
Pub Date: March 10, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781668138694
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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