Seamless performances capture a woman at two different times in her life. When Marian is young in the 1950s, she pursues a life-changing career in New York City. Rachel Jacobs gives a pitch-perfect performance as Marian is offered the opportunity to become a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall. She takes the job, which changes her life and upends her original safer plans. During this time of Marian's new-found freedom, New York City is gripped by a bomber who has set explosions at Radio City. The bomber will soon impact Marian's life. Kimberly Farr's performance perfectly supplements that of Jacobs as she provides the gravitas of an older Marian who has survived perilous times. Together, the narrators provide a gripping and touching listening experience.
Pub Date: June 13, 2023
Duration: 12 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593742624
Publisher: Penguin Audio
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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