Leah's former boss and mentor, Judy, dies unexpectedly and leaves Leah her red sports car, spurring Leah on a journey of self-discovery. Narrator Soneela Nankani portrays Leah as disconnected from the real world, floating from moment to moment with passive confusion. Her performance highlights Leah's denial of her failing marriage and faltering career. In contrast, Judy, in flashbacks and in Leah's memory, speaks in a confident, throaty contralto. Leah travels cross-country to attend Judy's funeral and spends the following weeks in San Francisco, making a series of irresponsible, spur-of-the-moment choices in an effort to avoid conflict. Minimal distinctions in the voices of secondary characters reflect Leah's self-centered experience of the world and highlight her slowly developing ability to take control of her life.
Pub Date: 2016
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781504745284
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
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: 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: 2017
Duration: 11 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781508234715
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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