Johnny Rey Diaz navigates these short stories with touching empathy. He performs the lived experiences of Salvadorans and the larger Latin American diaspora in ways both fascinating and challenging. Reyes, Jr's, storytelling starts conventionally but soon evolves into darker themes that capture the impact of late capitalism, which is characterized, in part, by the drive to replace migrant labor with automation. His genres expand into science fiction, alternative timelines, and even a "choose-your-own-adventure" approach to an alternative historical account of Salvadoran life. In one moving passage, a son attempts to reanimate his deceased father; in another, a beloved mother turns into a literal puppet. Throughout, Diaz masterfully conveys the nonlinear approaches. His voice is deeply affecting.
Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2024
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780063336285
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Tóibín empathetically describes characters in extreme moments, and the narrators bring their experiences...
Melancholy hangs like a low cloud over these powerful stories of displacement, adjustment, and self-revelation. Both Derbhle Crotty and Darragh Shannon deliver nuanced and persuasive performances, giving structure and meaning to the often spare and restrained prose. Their Irish accents add music to the proceedings. Shannon offers rich characterizations, and Crotty's pacing is thoughtful; she gets inside the protagonist’s head especially well in the novella-length concluding piece, “The Catalan Girls.” That story follows three sisters who spend most of their lives in Argentina before returning home to Catalonia. Two of the most affecting stories, “Sleep” and the title story, provide different takes on loss.
Tóibín empathetically describes characters in extreme moments, and the narrators bring their experiences eloquently to life.Pub Date: March 31, 2026
Duration: 8 hrs, 29 mins
DD ISBN: 9781797104768
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: today
Unfortunately, Erdrich's narration of these stories misses the mark.
The 13 stories in Erdrich's collection combine the everyday and the surreal. In the title story, a girl goes to stay with her grandparents while her parents bring home a new baby. She watches her uncle Jurgen slaughter livestock and recalls “meeting” a Burmese python during a school presentation. In “Domain,” a woman seeks to exact revenge on her father in a corporate afterlife. Pallas Erdrich narrates the stories in a straightforward manner, without many flourishes. The performance feels disjointed, however, as if she’s not fully engaged with the text, which can make it challenging to follow the threads of the stories.
Unfortunately, Erdrich's narration of these stories misses the mark.Pub Date: March 24, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 34 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063375048
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2026
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