Pears writes gripping historical novels about the arts. This one, set in Provence, concerns three heroes of three epochs in crisis. Julien is an antiquarian serving the Vichy government as a cultural censor during the German occupation. Pressured into burning books, he finds comfort in an inspiration from Olivier, an obscure poet who lived during the ravages of the Black Death. Olivier, in turn, is fascinated by the Gallic patrician and Christian bishop Manlius, a protector and disciple of St. Sophia during the fifth-century fall of the Roman Empire. At great danger to himself, each strives to preserve civilization and decency in his region against rising tides of barbarism and chaos. Inspiring interlocked stories are told with simple grace. Nick Rawlinson serves them up with uncommon intelligence, sensitivity, and technique. He misses not one nuance and convincingly puts flesh and blood on the vividly drawn characters. Moreover, he makes the intellectual minutiae as fascinating as the life and death issues and shows how the one cannot be separated from the other. The American listener may have to acclimate to French characters speaking in British accents, but the effort is more than worth it.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2002
Duration: 18 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: ISIS Audio Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This audiobook is initially daunting. Sixteen hours long and constructed of subtle—at times, even confusing—shifts in point of view, it may feel overwhelming in the first hour. But sticking with George Newbern’s narration and Gilbert’s prose yields great rewards. Newbern’s performance is funny, thoughtful, heartrending, and utterly engrossing. When the famous, now aging, author A.N. Dyer calls his distant sons to his side, Newbern is provided ample characters to animate, and he does so with perfect pacing and what seems like an innate understanding of the novel. He creates a rhythm that makes the changing perspectives easy to follow and Gilbert’s details accessible. & SONS is a perfect example of how a skilled narrator can make a good book even better.
Pub Date: July 23, 2013
Duration: 16 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780385359566
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Following multiple lives over six decades, this is a story of cultural shifts, the effects of racial prejudice, and family secrets. Joy Osmanski's narration is engaged and easy to listen to. There are times when her narration is uneven and character accents are inconsistent, but she moves the story along at an excellent pace. Will Damron capably narrates a few descriptive paragraphs at the beginning to set the scene. During the '50s, as bombs are explode in Nevada's deserts to entertain Las Vegas tourists, four sets of characters experience the destruction caused by prejudice and social upheaval in their lives. The author skillfully integrates the lives of vivid and realistic characters, bringing them to a satisfying and surprising denouement in the final chapters.
Pub Date: May 2, 2017
Duration: 11 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781508234715
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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