One cannot find fault with Edmund Dehn's reading of this book. His approach to the German characters is deferential. He has respect for the aging, for men and women alike; and his delivery is so focused that the listener shares his attitudes. At the end of the eighteenth century, young and brilliant Fritz von Hardenberg, a graduate of three universities, falls in love with 12-year-old Sophie von Kuhn. His family is displeased. Much philosophical talk ensues. Our difficulty is trying to place the people in the novel. In the German manner, each person is given a name, a title and a familiar moniker. (Sophie is "Zofchen" and "Tsufel.") Dehn is serious and completely honest in his reading, but without knowledge of German, the listener has to scurry to place the difference between die Freiherr von Hardenberg and Fritz's father.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 1999
Duration: 6 hrs, 45 mins
Publisher: ISIS Audio Books
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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