Actress Lucy Liu narrates Ng's latest, set in a chillingly plausible near future in which anti-Asian sentiment has reached shocking proportions. Twelve-year-old Bird, whose Chinese-American mother abandoned him years earlier, lives with his father, plagued by constant fear of the racist laws that govern their lives. Liu captures the intensity of this world, propulsively communicating Bird and his father's fear that the government will break up their family and take Bird away. While Liu effectively communicates the oppression of living under constant scrutiny, her steady staccato delivery is occasionally at odds with the lyricism of Ng's words. Closing the audio, Ng delivers the afterword with perfectly attuned emotion. Listeners may wish for a more nuanced overall presentation but will be captivated by this thought-provoking story.
Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
Duration: 9 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593629628
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In this fascinating coming-of-age portrait, Thomas Black Bull's journey from the child, Bear's Brother, to the fearsome rodeo rider, Killer Tom Black, is painted with compassion and insight. Forced to learn the White Man's ways, Tom reaches adulthood consumed by rage. Read with great vigor by Norman Dietz, the recording bursts with the energy of rodeo circuit and transports the listener to the southwest. The accurate portrayal of Tom's Ute ancestry and way of life, the sorrow and frustration of losing his heritage, and his angry retaliation at the world make this an excellent listening choice for adults and teenagers. It would also be a wonderful addition to high school units on the Native American experience.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 10 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
George S. Irving adopts Patrick McManus's characters with gusto. Sit back and listen to yarn after yarn. Irving relishes each story, whether it's fishing stories, such as "Claw of the Sea-Puss" or "To Filet or Not to Filet," or the escapades with McManus's wary but vulnerable neighbors. Irving has the jocular chuckle down pat, and the low comedy satire comes off without a hitch. Listeners can imagine Irving tipping back a chair at the country store swapping lies with cronies and entertaining any comers with these hilarious tales. His repertoire of more than eight collections of McManus stories encourages this kind of ownership!
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: DH Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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