A fresh, lyrical narration by Lorna Raver enlivens this story of Depression-era Big Foley Mountain, Kentucky. Segregation reigns in this backwater country, where whites and blacks alike eke out a bare subsistence living. The mystery of the cruel wolf hunters, as well as another decades-old mystery, ignites a conflict that embroils the entire community. Wall's imaginative prose becomes poetry in Raver's melodic delivery. Her gentle Southern twang tones down the harsh injustices experienced by Olivia's family and friends Junk and Love Alice, and even gives dimension to the novel's more unsavory characters. Her deft portrayal of Olivia’s mother, Ida, starkly depicts her questionable sanity. Raver delivers the novel’s suspenseful revelations and illuminates its theme of emotional survival amid tough circumstances.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2009
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Books on Tape
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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