Maria and Khalil are Brooklyn hipsters before the term "hipster" becomes mainstream or pejorative. Kristen Ariza narrates with hipster ennui. While Senna's writing requires listeners to understand the complexities of race and class, Ariza's narration is likely to muddle that understanding and, in doing so skew, the listening experience. This is unfortunate because the novel peels its characters experiences like an onion. What is the source of Maria's obsession with the Poet? Why would she reject Khalil, "a good man," even in her mother's estimation? And who are the New People, really? How do they fit with the "old people," the unambiguous (stereotypical?) blacks and whites in their world? Senna's writing survives Ariza's spiritless treatment, but not without blemishes.
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781524776862
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
An astonishingly unique historical novel, which begins in Trinidad in the 1940s, this is an example of the best that an audiobook can offer. The two narrators, Ron Butler and Bahni Turpin, are superb choices who move the listener smoothly between the two main characters. Farook and Marcia Garcia are star-crossed lovers who don’t have fate on their side. Turpin evokes the rhythms of English as spoken in Trinidad, lyrical, and rhythmic. Through her confident narrative style, Marica Garcia comes across as a strong, beleaguered young woman. Her trials evoke empathy in the listener. Butler establishes the contorted choices that face Farook as an Indian man who is prevented by racism from marrying his true love. This sprawling tale spans Trinidad and the United States, from the 1940s-1960s.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2015
Duration: 13 hrs
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Sometimes a book pulls you in and holds on tight--this is definitely one of those. Narrator Erin Bennett is warm, engaging, and enthusiastic as Mallory Blessing and a host of wide-ranging, multidimensional characters. As the story begins, Mallory is dying and her son, Link, is given instructions to call a strange number belonging to Jake McCloud. Listeners are soon taken on a journey back in time as their 28-year love story unfolds. Bennett's narration perfectly matches each stage of Mallory's life--and her unconventional "same time next year" relationship with Jake--as she finds her place on Nantucket. Best of all, each chapter opens with a list of "things we were talking about" during each of the 28 years, making the novel's journey back in time even more memorable for listeners.
Pub Date: June 30, 2020
Duration: 15 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781549117367
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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