Kathleen Gati's sweet voice and precise delivery movingly evoke the unnamed French girl who, in this most famous of Marguerite Duras's novels, describes her clandestine love affair with an older Chinese man in 1950s Indochina (now Vietnam). Winner of the 1984 Prix Goncourt, the brief tale explores class identity, passion, racism, and self-reliance in spare yet descriptive prose. Gati speaks in a lower pitch with crystalline pronunciation that emphasizes the ends of words. Both choices add to the story's tension as she conjures a girl becoming a woman who shares a long-held secret--a secret whose significance she hasn't quite resolved. Writer Maxine Hong Kingston's new introduction to this edition, also read by Gati, offers interesting background information and context.
Pub Date: March 21, 2023
Duration: 3 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593632581
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Reader Michael Prichard delivers a convincing rendition of Archie Goodwin, the burly right hand of the portly Nero Wolfe, world-renowned gourmand and detective. Prichard preserves the 1970s setting and 1950s origins of the story, bringing listeners a well-paced narration of murder and politics--a combination of elements that usually guarantees an exciting listen. This audio entertainment is as well formed and fragrant as one of Wolfe's hothouse orchids (the stout sleuth cultivates them by the hundreds in his town house greenhouse) as Goodwin walks us through an explosive murder investigation and political wheeling and dealing in a tough yet intelligent read.
Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2006
Duration: 5 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Partners
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This collection of eight short stories contains gentle tales of fantasy and magic--not the magic of wizards and wands, but of wishing mats and enormous cats and gifts brought by the winds. In a lovely English accent, Lizza Aiken quietly narrates these stories in which magic and good fortune often come to those who deserve it. Although her pitch changes little, she registers a range of emotions--from the sadness of a girl whose necklace of raindrops has been stolen to the joy of a child who moves from a hard life and a ramshackle trailer to a happy home amid the clouds. A NECKLACE OF RAINDROPS would make a soothing choice for a family car trip after a long day.
Ages 6+Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
Duration: 1 hr, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781101915721
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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