SMALL MERCIES is a beautifully wrought origami swan of an audiobook—every time you unfold a wing or beak to see how it’s made, you find Bobby, the beloved son/brother/husband who died at the Twin Towers on 9/11. In Scott Aiello’s rich and devastating performance you can hear how different Bobby’s widow is from her new Manhattan beau; it’s in their accents. Here are voices from all walks of New York City life as well as a vivid portrait of place, Staten Island, and an Italian-Irish family—how they love, support, and fail each other; how genes will out; how these decent, flawed people roll with what life deals them. Both novel and performance are full of craft and heart in this outstanding production.
Pub Date: March 10, 2015
Duration: 11 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780698190290
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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