Although the premise of LOST CAUSES seems wrought with anguish, both main characters strive to find meaning in their dissolving lives. Kathe Mazur and Stephen Hoye perform splendid counterpoints to each other, using subtle tones of despair tempered by hints of bewildered irony and cautious emotion. In Russia, world chess champion Bezetov becomes embroiled in post-Cold War dissident politics, risking his life as he pits himself against Vladimir Putin and his policies. Decades later, across the world, Irina Ellison confronts Huntington's disease and the limitations ahead, which she knows all too well since her father died of the disease. She seeks out Bezetov in Russia to respond to her father's unanswered question about persevering in the face of a lost cause—a question that is now intensely personal to Irina. Both characters' fates collide in a triumph of courage, wisdom, and compassion.
Pub Date: March 20, 2012
Duration: 16 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780307969293
Publisher: Random House Audio
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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