Graham Halstead meets the complex narration challenge posed by this audiobook. His performance provides the perfect mix of empathy and horror. Blakemore's work is a deeply literary journey based on a real historical figure. In the time of the French Revolution, Tarare is forced out of his home; eventually he joins a circus, where he becomes a freak attraction for his ability to eat high volumes of food--or anything else. Halstead's performance connects with literary prose that fleshes out the time and place, and provides listeners with a kind of lyrical rhythm. His voice captures the beauty and heartbreak in the story's grotesque events.
Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2023
Duration: 11 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781797165646
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
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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