Irish-born travel writer Kathleen de Burca is experiencing a mid-life crisis and decides to try her hand at writing history. She investigates the divorce of an Irish land baron in 1850, looking into scandal, class structure, and geography while at the same time gaining appreciation for her own life and Irish roots. Dearbhla Molloy’s mellifluous Irish voice and inflections bring de Burca to life, replete with her struggles to understand the plight of the Irish poor then and now. Molloy keeps de Burca’s exploration of the past firmly intertwined with her own past and present, never faltering in her ability to convey the connectedness of the multiple stories. M.B.K. 2002 Audie Award Finalist. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2001
Duration: 6 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ayla, one of the "others," is adopted by a clan of Neanderthal cave people. She struggles to conform to their ways, but her advanced human traits overwhelm and threaten their primitive culture in this initial installment of an immensely popular series. Although the story might benefit from abridgment, Rowena Cooper easily carries out the formidable task of enlivening the mostly silent and stereotypical characters with consistent, diverse personalities and human dimension. Through skillful phrasing and inflection, she maintains the reader's interest and suspense, especially with Ayla and her plight, throughout this rambling and imaginative story.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This lyrical, sensual novel of woman's lot in Manchu, China, is as well researched as it is well written. Authentic in tone, it's nonetheless written for Westerners by a Western expert on China. Moreover, Susan Clark performs the demanding text superbly, with only occasional signs of fatigue. For the most part she not only sustains the quaint diction and Asian atmosphere, but also, creates whole worlds with her voice. She acts the book, rather than reads it, and, in so doing, turns a pretty trifle into a stupendous beauty.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Literature
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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