HEARTS IN ATLANTIS offers five novellas, each examining both childhood and the Vietnam War. William Hurt opens the series with a quirky and riveting account of a summer in the lives of three Connecticut children and the adults who influence them. His odd pauses and rushing narrative clearly portray the images of childhood, and the unsettling ways of grown-ups, as well. King takes over for the title story, about a game of cards in a college dorm. No one else could bring to life the University of Maine like this alum, and no one else could better vocalize the deep woods accents of some of its students. The author falls short, however, in his narration of "Blind Willie." Believable in Maine, he doesn't cut it in New York City. But Hurt is back for the closing segments, "Why We're in Vietnam" and "Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling," notably more subdued in these accounts of adult pain and longing than in his exuberant telling of childhood tales. Well-chosen musical sound bites punctuate all five stories.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 1999
Duration: 21 hrs
Publisher: Simon & Schuster 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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