Irish novelist Marian Keyes's latest is a big, bawdy story of relationships and personal dramas among the tenants of 66 Star Street in Dublin. It’s packed with intriguing characters and situations that offer as much humor and sass as they do tragedy. The author's sister, Catriona Keyes, is instrumental in giving the audio version an advantage over the printed text. The density that makes the book so rich inevitably results in slow patches, but Catriona's crisp presentation and mastery of comic timing move the action along briskly. Her delightful brogue lends authenticity to the narrative, especially the dialogue, and helps bring definition and depth to the characters. Novelist Keyes takes some chances with this novel, but the result is still her trademark satisfying ending, with all loose ends neatly tied.
Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2010
Duration: 18 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781101154571
Publisher: Penguin 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: July 23, 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: May 2, 2017
Duration: 11 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781508234715
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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