Paul Boehmer virtually turns himself this storyteller, a Welshman who comes to America to fight for the North in the Civil War. As a survivor of Bull Run and Shiloh, Abel Jones might have become mean and tough, but instead he has a "horror of equines" and says things like "my heart filled with a malice near to joy." Parry's poetic language is surprising in its power to move the serious tale, as when the major watches a man being hung, and the teller's softened voice neither hurries nor lingers. Speaking as Northern and Southern soldiers, Irishmen, slaves, and Germans, Boehmer approaches the linguistic ability of a full cast.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2002
Duration: 12 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
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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