Narrator Julia Whelan's refined, feminine voice might seem a strange choice for this moody, peculiar novel heavily laced with violence and vulgarity. But Whelan's pleasant style is perfectly suited to the almost magical, scintillating tale of Pierrot and Rose. Abandoned in an orphanage as babies, they perform an eccentric musical act during their adolescent years--but are separated as young adults, each making his or her way in the dark side of the city during the Great Depression. In the midst of describing their miserable lives, Whelan shines in her understated delivery of Heather O'Neill's rich and delightful similes. This is a beautifully rendered novel, simultaneously menacing and vibrant, and Whelan's unobtrusive narration does it full justice.
Pub Date: 2017
Duration: 12 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781524749637
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
American colleges are favorable locales for ghastly event and hair-tearing circumstance. There is, for instance, a good deal of pleasure to be had out of professor and past-prodigy Grady Tripp's awful life, as portrayed by Michael Chabon in WONDER BOYS. There is a certain amount of slapstick here, but it's balanced by Chabon's superb portrait of a gale-force mid-life crisis, a soul-destroying albatross of an unfinished novel and the mind-numbing inconsequence of writers' conferences. David Colacci sounds a little starved for oxygen in his reading, but that's not exactly out of keeping with Grady Tripp's personal gestalt.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: N/A
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
As a group of men bring their own emotional baggage to their football-obsessed reunion, R.C. Bray delivers his usual solid narration. He shifts his tones slightly but enough to put the listener in the motel with the men, revealing their foibles as the story progresses. The narrator's role in this book is a descriptive one, and Bray is a good guide. His narration becomes extra important because this is a rare instance when there almost isn't a protagonist. The author's well-written story--which alternates between serious and laugh-out-loud funny--uses quarterback Joe Theismann's 1985 injury, a broken leg, as a McGuffin.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781681680057
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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