A moment occurs towards the end of this classic novel of crime and punishment when Grover Gardner delivers the voices of men on death row. Some sound resigned, others complain, one moans. These emulations of misery are palpable and demonstrate Gardner's subtle expertise as a narrator. A master performer, he elevates this naturalistic novel, an account of the strivings and disappointments of Clyde Griffiths, a flawed but fascinating protagonist whose rise and fall end when he commits a heinous crime and is electrocuted for it. Perhaps equally important are its precisely chiseled anti-capitalist details of a stratified collar factory with its nepotistic organization and its evocation of prison life--rigid, punitive, and unyielding--which will make even the most hard-hearted listener yearn for restorative justice.
Pub Date: April 30, 2024
Duration: 38 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798212708487
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This audiobook is initially daunting. Sixteen hours long and constructed of subtle—at times, even confusing—shifts in point of view, it may feel overwhelming in the first hour. But sticking with George Newbern’s narration and Gilbert’s prose yields great rewards. Newbern’s performance is funny, thoughtful, heartrending, and utterly engrossing. When the famous, now aging, author A.N. Dyer calls his distant sons to his side, Newbern is provided ample characters to animate, and he does so with perfect pacing and what seems like an innate understanding of the novel. He creates a rhythm that makes the changing perspectives easy to follow and Gilbert’s details accessible. & SONS is a perfect example of how a skilled narrator can make a good book even better.
Pub Date: July 23, 2013
Duration: 16 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780385359566
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Following multiple lives over six decades, this is a story of cultural shifts, the effects of racial prejudice, and family secrets. Joy Osmanski's narration is engaged and easy to listen to. There are times when her narration is uneven and character accents are inconsistent, but she moves the story along at an excellent pace. Will Damron capably narrates a few descriptive paragraphs at the beginning to set the scene. During the '50s, as bombs are explode in Nevada's deserts to entertain Las Vegas tourists, four sets of characters experience the destruction caused by prejudice and social upheaval in their lives. The author skillfully integrates the lives of vivid and realistic characters, bringing them to a satisfying and surprising denouement in the final chapters.
Pub Date: May 2, 2017
Duration: 11 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781508234715
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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