Narrator Karen Chilton's stunning performance increases the power of this important debut novel about the far-reaching effects of the love between two male slaves on a Mississippi plantation. In chapters named for books of the Bible, this audiobook exposes the myriad perspectives of slaves and masters, detailing moments of almost unimaginable brutality, hopelessness, and fear juxtaposed with snatches of beauty and love in the plantation's closed community. Drawing on the tradition of giving testimony, Chilton's delivery conveys the personal experiences of the fully developed characters, the collective spiritual and cultural African past of the slaves, and the universality of human emotions and dreams. Author Robert Jones imagines a unique scenario for the long-standing place of queerness in some traditional Black African cultures.
Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
Duration: 15 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780593287002
Publisher: Penguin 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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