Jenna Blum’s debut novel is a haunting story that brings to life the shame, sacrifices, and atrocities faced by many German citizens as they attempted to survive during the Nazi regime. The story of Trudy Swenson and her mother, Anna--who refuses to discuss her life during the War--is also a novel of spirit, in which Trudy discovers the depths to which her mother sank in order to save their lives. Suzanne Toren’s reading is as impressive as Blum’s prose. Toren handles the intense events of the novel with gentility and measured restraint, yet she fully conveys the unspeakable brutality of the Nazis, particularly the Obersturmführer, whose evil, in many ways, saved mother and daughter. THOSE WHO SAVE US is destined to win awards, both for Blum and Toren.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2005
Duration: 16 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
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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