THE GOOD THIEF recounts the sojourn of spunky, one-armed orphan Ren and the quirky characters who are part of his odd life in nineteenth-century New England. Reminiscent of Dickens's OLIVER TWIST, Tinti’s novel has a range of wildly unlikely personalities who somehow lend Ren's tale a heroic plausibility. William Dufris rises to the challenge with a daunting range of voices, delivered with intensity and irony. Dufris has a striking interpretation for all: monk, drunken sailor, con artist, farmer, thief, kindly woman, dwarf, giant, and Ren himself. After leaving the orphanage, Ren is adopted by Nab, who claims to be his long-lost brother, and the pair travel throughout New England from adventure to adventure. But finding his supposed brother brings Ren no closer to solving the mystery of his origins—a predicament that revs up the story’s suspense to a dazzling pitch.
Pub Date: 2009
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN:
Publisher: Brilliance 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:
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:
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Literature
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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