William Dufris performs a feat of wonder in a novel that skips swiftly from topic to topic, intertwining the life stories of Filipinos Miguel Syjuco and his mentor, famed author Crispin Salvador. Syjuco investigates Salvador's suspicious death and the disappearance of his long-awaited, unfinished, and possibly abandoned manuscript. When speaking lines from Salvador's books, journals, and letters, Dufris knows just when to lay on an overdramatic tone that is reminiscent of old-time radio announcers. For Syjuco’s bitter and cynical views, he adopts a jaded tone. The listener is never confused about the source of each utterance—whether it’s the biographer's notes, published novels, eavesdropped gossip, blogs, or Syjuco's personal history. Pieces of these puzzles form the author's life through literary fragments and, in addition, trace 150 years of Philippine history, contrasting the islands' ravished present with their illustrious past.
Pub Date: April 30, 2010
Duration: 12 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Tantor Media
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
