Agee's novel is an edgy tale of survival along the banks of the Mississippi River in nineteenth-century Missouri. While Cassandra Campbell's sweet and clear voice is pleasant, it's a strange match for some of the gory scenes of the novel. The harsh frontier life is sketched in vivid detail by Agee, and Campbell lingers over each intricate description. Campbell admirably creates voices for unusual characters, like the French trapper Jacques Ducharme, and accurately projects their emotions. However, since several characters experience deep tragedies and injuries, the overall story's emotional tone is bleak, and sustained listening can be overwhelming.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2007
Duration: 18 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781415941836
Publisher: Books on Tape
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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