Can one call an audio performance ravishing? That's what Barbara Caruso delivers in this perfect marriage of writing and narration. Joan Didion has written an absorbing reflection on the year that followed the death of her husband of 40 years, the author John Gregory Dunne. It was a year in which she grieved while also caring for their severely ill only child, Quintana. In a voice as warm and clear as wildflower honey, Barbara Caruso speaks Didion's words as if they flow straight from her own heart. It's subtly done: a smile in the voice when the line is witty, an intake of breath before pain. Caruso sounds fascinated. And we are engrossed from first word to last.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2005
Duration: 5 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781598872071
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
James Michener tells the real stories behind the man and his books. The recording is read with skill and consistency although the reader does little to enhance the robust, larger-than-life incidents related in the book. Due to the first-person narrative format, there is no opportunity for the narrator to change his voice. This makes some chapters monotonous as they go on and on in the typical Michener style. The listener may also become confused because the stories are not told chronologically. This is not a great choice for the audio format, but Michener fans may stick with it to the end.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In a quest for a sense of inner contentment and self-worth, Gloria Steinem brings the reader on a journey of investigation and discovery. Steinem reads the text herself in a straightforward and friendly, but not intimate, presentation which is so easy to listen to it invites repetition--thus ensuring the painless relearning of the lessons of the book. It's difficult to tell from the reading that this audiobook is abridged; each section can stand alone. Nonetheless, the listener wished the book were unabridged. Steinem left me wanting to learn more.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Dove Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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