Frankie Corzo narrates this moving story of a daughter's yearning and estrangement. In 1937, wealthy and capricious Leonora Calaway transports a cadre of reviled artists--"degenerates"--to a remote resort in Mexico to protect them from Hitler's persecution. Bearing witness to this unconventional lifestyle is Lara, Leonora's 15-year-old daughter, who chronicles life in Costalegre in her diary. Sharply observant and reflective, Lara's entries reveal her feelings of displacement and need for connection. While Corzo's light, high voice matches Lara's years, her clipped delivery undercuts the natural intimacy of diary entries, creating subtle conflicts between Lara's words and their performance. At times, the misalignment blunts Lara's inner turmoil, not to mention her humor. Happily, Corzo's efficiency doesn't overshadow the story's tenderness.
Pub Date: 2019
Duration: 4 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781721354931
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
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:
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:
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Literature
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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