Brittany Pressley and Robert Petkoff are both excellent choices to narrate this quiet audiobook. Each has a serene tone and placid delivery that suits the understated style of the novel. Petkoff voices the part of the story centered on Jaryk, who survived the Warsaw ghetto of WWII. Petkoff's narration is clear and elegant, navigating Jaryk's winding path using a calm pace. Pressley takes the helm when we hear Lucy's side of the story; she sounds sweetly warm and confiding as she speaks. The love story that ensues in the aftermath of not one but two acts of resistance--acts that come in the form of the titular play--is measured and gradual. Patient listeners will be rewarded with a well-performed audio experience.
Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
Duration: 10 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780593454022
Publisher: Random House 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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