Jung breathes a refreshing energy into Han's nuanced passages, elucidating their wisdom.
Writers spend a lot of time alone, perceiving details like the way light slants across a room or a garden. Han is a Nobel Prize laureate of international prominence, but it is the concept of golden light that interests her most. Greta Jung narrates this slim, poetic essay collection, which includes Han's Nobel lecture, in a soft yet resonant voice. Ideas that might feel too lofty or noble are grounded by Han's connection to nature and Jung’s mellow, calming tempo. There is subtlety in this meditative collection about the origins of book ideas, but it’s not quiet.
Jung breathes a refreshing energy into Han's nuanced passages, elucidating their wisdom.Pub Date: March 24, 2026
Duration: 1 hr, 51 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217346622
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: May 12, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
Narrator David Shih impeccably introduces renowned artist Ai Weiwei, whose outspoken stand on the freedoms denied in China has made him a government target. Here he looks at 100 years of Chinese history through his life and that of his father, Ai Qing, a well-known poet. Shih faultlessly captures Ai Weiwei's first-person story and gracefully recites Ai Qing's magnificent poetry. Both men's imprisonment is powerfully conveyed, along with descriptions of cities, remote villages, and vibrant conversations with famous and ordinary people. Ai Weiwei's activism is more widely covered than his art. His sadness, sarcasm, optimism, and wit, as well as quotes from his young son, are enlivened by Shih's considerable skill. Audio enhances this unflinching look at China and an extraordinary man.
Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
Duration: 13 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780399567537
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Author Hisham Matar takes the listener on a melancholy amble around Siena, Italy. His somber voice and precise enunciation enhance his eloquent writing. As he considers great masterpieces from the Sienese School of painting and other works that bring insight to his own life, we learn how the power of art can enlighten us. Meditations on art, love, and existence intertwine with musings on his relationships and the people he encounters in the city as he deals with the loss of his father. Matar's detailed descriptions of several works of art, such as Lorenzetti's unsettling painting of the Madonna and child, are vivid, but the listening experience would be enhanced by viewing images as well.
Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
Duration: 3 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593171080
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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