Paul Boehmer's thoughtful, well-paced narration encourages close listening to this beautifully written personal memoir and guide to the seventeenth-century Dutch master painters. When Pulitzer Prize-winning author Benjamin Moser relocated to the Netherlands, he sought to understand his place in a foreign country by delving into the lives and work of Rembrandt, Fabritius, Lievens, Vermeer, ter Borch, and many others. The result is partly art history essays and partly an attempt to answer questions such as why do we make art and how should we relate to it. Oddly, throughout the narration Boehmer changes his voice to a lower register with an echo effect for random passages. If unintentional, this may be an unfortunate editing error that is puzzling to the listener.
Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2023
Duration: 12 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781696613422
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Often provocative and never boring, Depraved provides plenty of material for water cooler discussions.
Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2026
Duration: 9 hrs, 5 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217338764
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Sept. 22, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2026
Swinton’s magnetic performance of this 10th anniversary edition adds meaningfully to the legacy of Laing’s...
Tilda Swinton is a joy to listen to in this homage to loneliness and paean for intimacy. Laing’s landmark work of unconventional art history proves to be as relevant as it was in 2016, if not more so, in an increasingly atomized, post-pandemic world where many, if not most, social interactions happen through our phones. Loneliness, in Laing’s eyes, is not a singular experience, and certainly not a moral failing, but a fact of human nature. Swinton’s clean, polished tone is subtly compassionate to the very real, relatable sufferings of the profiled urbanite artists. This account of our saddest human state is full of rich, hopeful detail.
Swinton’s magnetic performance of this 10th anniversary edition adds meaningfully to the legacy of Laing’s magnum opus.Pub Date: June 2, 2026
Duration: 9 hrs, 37 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250442710
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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