This audiobook is a fictionalized account of five real-life extraordinary women in early-twentieth-century Sweden. Led by the forceful af Klint, the group, called De Fem, met regularly to practice drawing artistic inspiration from the spiritual world. Tavia Gilbert provides each woman with a unique voice, ranging from masculine to breathy to nearly hysterical. The exuberant mood shifts dramatically when Pete Cross takes over for the present-day art scene, in which Evan, an earnest, young assistant curator at the Guggenheim Museum, works to research and present a major show of af Klint's work, which has rarely been seen outside Sweden. He taps into the feminist movement while presenting af Klint as the world's first truly abstract painter.
Pub Date: May 16, 2023
Duration: 8 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593675755
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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