INFINITE JEST may qualify as the "great American novel," especially as it embodies a mythic scale of emblematic writing about America's obsession with entertainment, addiction, and addiction to entertainment. The audiobook version makes this 1,300-page tome more accessible to a wider audience. Sean Pratt's performance is cleverly modulated—underscoring Wallace's wild genius and somewhat futuristic exploration. Pratt boldly portrays the main character's internal irony, sadness, turmoil, and brilliance while ably performing other characters' diverse dialects and accents. Many JEST devotees have criticized the audio publisher’s decision to include the book's 395 end notes as a downloadable PDF file instead of having them read aloud. I did not stop my car to read the digressions, nor did I see the value in reading them at another time, when their relevance would have been lost. A dilemma to be sure—but not one that should cause listeners to miss out on a powerful, and often hilarious, classic.
Pub Date: 2011
Duration: 56 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781609418120
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This audiobook is initially daunting. Sixteen hours long and constructed of subtle—at times, even confusing—shifts in point of view, it may feel overwhelming in the first hour. But sticking with George Newbern’s narration and Gilbert’s prose yields great rewards. Newbern’s performance is funny, thoughtful, heartrending, and utterly engrossing. When the famous, now aging, author A.N. Dyer calls his distant sons to his side, Newbern is provided ample characters to animate, and he does so with perfect pacing and what seems like an innate understanding of the novel. He creates a rhythm that makes the changing perspectives easy to follow and Gilbert’s details accessible. & SONS is a perfect example of how a skilled narrator can make a good book even better.
Pub Date: 2013
Duration: 16 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780385359566
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Following multiple lives over six decades, this is a story of cultural shifts, the effects of racial prejudice, and family secrets. Joy Osmanski's narration is engaged and easy to listen to. There are times when her narration is uneven and character accents are inconsistent, but she moves the story along at an excellent pace. Will Damron capably narrates a few descriptive paragraphs at the beginning to set the scene. During the '50s, as bombs are explode in Nevada's deserts to entertain Las Vegas tourists, four sets of characters experience the destruction caused by prejudice and social upheaval in their lives. The author skillfully integrates the lives of vivid and realistic characters, bringing them to a satisfying and surprising denouement in the final chapters.
Pub Date: 2017
Duration: 11 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781508234715
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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