Together, the cast gives a professionally polished presentation of a sometimes-sensationalistic minor classic.
Primary narrator Sarah Lambie’s graceful, heartfelt performance helps keep Diderot’s short 18th-century novel from descending into exaggerated melodrama. A sensitive young woman, forced into holy orders, is subject to unending trauma, including psychological and physical torture and sexual abuse. Lambie conveys the novel’s horrors and excesses with a professional restraint that keeps it from self-parody while still imbuing it with an affecting and engaging emotionality. She mostly uses standard upper-class British accents, though one mother superior’s regional accent unfortunately sounds vaguely comical—but perhaps only to an American ear. Her fellow cast members, with relatively small roles in the last section, perform with an equally fine balance of emotion and aplomb.
Together, the cast gives a professionally polished presentation of a sometimes-sensationalistic minor classic.Pub Date: June 1, 2025
Duration: 7 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781781985687
Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2026
In this fascinating coming-of-age portrait, Thomas Black Bull's journey from the child, Bear's Brother, to the fearsome rodeo rider, Killer Tom Black, is painted with compassion and insight. Forced to learn the White Man's ways, Tom reaches adulthood consumed by rage. Read with great vigor by Norman Dietz, the recording bursts with the energy of rodeo circuit and transports the listener to the southwest. The accurate portrayal of Tom's Ute ancestry and way of life, the sorrow and frustration of losing his heritage, and his angry retaliation at the world make this an excellent listening choice for adults and teenagers. It would also be a wonderful addition to high school units on the Native American experience.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 10 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
George S. Irving adopts Patrick McManus's characters with gusto. Sit back and listen to yarn after yarn. Irving relishes each story, whether it's fishing stories, such as "Claw of the Sea-Puss" or "To Filet or Not to Filet," or the escapades with McManus's wary but vulnerable neighbors. Irving has the jocular chuckle down pat, and the low comedy satire comes off without a hitch. Listeners can imagine Irving tipping back a chair at the country store swapping lies with cronies and entertaining any comers with these hilarious tales. His repertoire of more than eight collections of McManus stories encourages this kind of ownership!
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: DH Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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