Amidst the financial and social intrigues of seventeenth-century Amsterdam, Jewish-Portuguese commodities trader Miguel Lienzo is trying to corner the market on an addicting new product: coffee. Dutch law forbids him to work with Gentiles or to commit impure acts, but with the help of the seductive Geertruid Damhouder, he is doing both, all the while being chased by angry creditors and mistrusted by both the Dutch and Jewish business communities. John Lee offers a rich assortment of Dutch and Portuguese accents and subtle shadings of personality to color the characters in this well-researched and entertaining historical novel. Endearing Lienzo has an expansive tone; his unpleasant brother sounds as if he is perpetually sucking on a lemon; seductive Geertruid is sibilant and unhurried. Lee's resonant baritone guides us among them all. A pleasure.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2003
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
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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