Julian Fellowes recreates the posh world of 1960s London, in which the upper classes cling to their titles while attempting to stave off the social changes taking place all around them. This is a novel of two worlds: one of debutante balls, the other of “hash” brownies. The unnamed chronicler, voiced by Richard Morant with an appropriate upper-crust tone, must revisit his youth when a former friend contacts him seeking assistance to find his illegitimate child. The man is terminally ill and wants an heir. Morant creates multiple believable female characters, including a drunk and avaricious American and a soft-spoken Moravian princess, but his finest portrayal is that of the desperately sick and regretful Damian. Morant makes the most of the abundant humor but can only do his best with the stilted dialogue, which contains too much story explication.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2009
Duration: 16 hrs, 45 mins
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America
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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