Pickens’ stellar narration turns this beautiful reflection on life and its wonders into much more than a moving love...
Narrator Jennifer Pickens captures Agatha, the irascible title character, within the first minutes of this audiobook. With her artist’s eye, Agatha observes things that most people don’t notice. Despite her stony manner and her desire for solitude, Agatha is in love with Alice, who is slowly succumbing to the ravages of dementia. Alice’s son plans to put her in a care facility, but Agatha offers her the sanctuary of her own home. Pickens is splendid delivering Foley’s spare, condensed prose. Loosely based on the life of New Mexico artist Agnes Martin, Foley’s novel weaves a gorgeous tapestry of the moments, both terrible and wonderful, that make up this fictional Agnes’ life.
Pickens’ stellar narration turns this beautiful reflection on life and its wonders into much more than a moving love story.Pub Date: March 17, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 37 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668137048
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 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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