It’s possible, isn’t it, that a child could be born a kind of genetic throwback, not one generation or two simply, but maybe thousands? What would happen to such a child in our modern, fast-paced world? Would he, could he, adapt? Now, enter Ben, Doris Lessing’s great experiment in genetic manipulation. He is huge, strong, totally unfamiliar with all modern institutions. His racial memory has skipped over many thousands of years, and he seems to belong nowhere on Earth. Though his plight invites our sympathy, Lessing’s prose is stark, blocky, mechanical, like the hero of her story. Martyn Read’s narration, too, is controlled, almost totally expressionless, except for the many characterizations that leap into rich and varied life. Read’s vivid renderings of character thus become the one spot of color in a story otherwise difficult to listen to and difficult to bear.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2003
Duration: 6 hrs, 45 mins
Publisher: ISIS Audio Books
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: July 23, 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: May 2, 2017
Duration: 11 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781508234715
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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