This passionate story of love and revenge spans four decades--from Mao's Cultural Revolution to China's emergence as an economic powerhouse. Tan Long, the legitimate son of General Ding Long, grows up in privilege, being groomed for leadership. His illegitimate half-brother, Shento, unknown to his father, is also being groomed for success--by poverty, brutality, and cunning. Their fortunes are reversed, however, after Mao's death, and, to complicate matters, both love the same beautiful orphan, Sumi Wo. Four readers narrate the two brothers' stories and Sumi's own narrative, all depicting the story's tension and reinforcing its complex structure. As the epic ranges from Beijing to Balan, the four narrators tether it firmly to the Long clan and its astounding history.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2006
Duration: 15 hrs
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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