George Newbern narrates this provocative novel in a relaxed conversational style that allows Tuil's breathtaking story to sparkle. Sam Tahar, a wealthy New York attorney, learns that a life built on lies will eventually unravel. He can't resist wooing Nina, the ex-lover he lost long ago to his former best friend, Samuel, and this uncontrollable hunger triggers an inevitable downward spiral. Newbern's straightforward dialogue and fast pace sometimes make it difficult for for the listener to identify which character is speaking. But this shortcoming is relatively insignificant because this work stands so strongly on its narrative elegance. It's a dark story, but Newbern's performance doesn't linger on the gravitas. It seems that obsession will destroy only those who deserve it.
Pub Date: 2015
Duration: 11 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781442397743
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
American colleges are favorable locales for ghastly event and hair-tearing circumstance. There is, for instance, a good deal of pleasure to be had out of professor and past-prodigy Grady Tripp's awful life, as portrayed by Michael Chabon in WONDER BOYS. There is a certain amount of slapstick here, but it's balanced by Chabon's superb portrait of a gale-force mid-life crisis, a soul-destroying albatross of an unfinished novel and the mind-numbing inconsequence of writers' conferences. David Colacci sounds a little starved for oxygen in his reading, but that's not exactly out of keeping with Grady Tripp's personal gestalt.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: N/A
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
As a group of men bring their own emotional baggage to their football-obsessed reunion, R.C. Bray delivers his usual solid narration. He shifts his tones slightly but enough to put the listener in the motel with the men, revealing their foibles as the story progresses. The narrator's role in this book is a descriptive one, and Bray is a good guide. His narration becomes extra important because this is a rare instance when there almost isn't a protagonist. The author's well-written story--which alternates between serious and laugh-out-loud funny--uses quarterback Joe Theismann's 1985 injury, a broken leg, as a McGuffin.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781681680057
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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