Ian Guerra masterfully narrates this stunning novel, the latest by Nobel Laureate Vargas Llosa. It is the story of the 1954 American-backed military coup of the democratically elected government of Guatemala, which effectively rendered that small country into a banana republic. Guerra voices the many characters of the novel distinctly--no easy feat. People swing in and out of the action; some, whose stories are well underway, are never heard from again. Guerra begins each new chapter as a deep breath punctuating his reading, helping the listener identify the theme of the novel: A multitude of nameless and voiceless people gave their lives to fight a superpower obsessed by the perceived threats of the Cold War. A masterful performance of a memorable book.
Pub Date: 2021
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250825193
Publisher: Macmillan 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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