Tanabe's sweeping historical fiction is set in 1930s Indochine (today's Vietnam) as the French colony deals with growing unrest. Angela Dawe and Emily Ellet are up to the challenge of narrating the story. They give believable voices to the two main characters, Jessie and Marcelle, and to a large cast of French and Asian characters. American Jessie has worked hard to hide her poor, rural Virginia past and re-create herself. Dawe does a good job of burying her accent except on the rare occasions when she revisits her unhappy childhood in her mind. Ellet voices Marcelle's privileged French upbringing in every syllable she utters. Supporting characters--from Michelin-heir- and-husband Victor to Indochine millionaire Khoi and the loyal Lanh--add depth and texture.
Pub Date: April 7, 2020
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250261021
Publisher: Macmillan 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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