Keneally, who gave us SCHINDLER’S LIST, scores again with a portrait of three of the worst famines to strike the world since the middle of the nineteenth century—events that took place in Ireland, Bengal, and Ethiopia (twice). Peter Byrne’s simple, declarative delivery is at once clinical in its objectivity and heartrending in its passion. He makes us feel the pain and suffering of the victims he reveals. His narration flows smoothly among the three events, weaving them into a continuous tapestry of tragedy. Byrne’s Australian accent helps to enhance the international aspects of this odyssey across three continents. His timing and pacing perfectly complement the underlying histories. Students of government and social justice will appreciate the telling indictments of the regimes responsible for all three tragedies.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2011
Duration: 9 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Bolinda Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A hint of hijinks in sleepy Königsberg sets ears ablaze.
The obscure uproar so vividly portrayed in this brief audiobook couldn’t be farther from today’s media commotions—or nearer. This “small vortex of turbulence” sounds like a stage farce: It’s set in backwater Königsberg, capital of East Prussia, in the 1830s, during the lull between the Napoleonic wars and the 1848 Revolution. Take a preposterous but compelling religious cult and two guileless but strikingly handsome Lutheran clergymen, add only a hint of fornication, and gossip does the rest. Vidish Athavale’s measured, finely nuanced narration gives edge and authority to a narrative without a wasted word or useless detail. And he clearly relishes the polysyllabic 19th-century German names.
A hint of hijinks in sleepy Königsberg sets ears ablaze.Pub Date: March 10, 2026
Duration: 4 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217282234
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
Andoh gives a magnetic performance for fans of Wild Swans and anyone interested in learning about China.
British actress Adjoa Andoh’s robust, smooth voice elevates Chang’s follow-up to her bestselling 1991 book Wild Swans, resulting in an engrossing and thought-provoking listen. Chang chronicles her life after 1978, when she became a British citizen and began researching and writing about China and Mao Zedong. She reflects on China’s political shifts and on her mother’s guidance as Chang navigates a suspicious and sometimes hostile government. Andoh narrates the more academic passages with a measured pace. In more personal sections, such as Chang’s battle with breast cancer and her recollections of her father’s imprisonment, Andoh ups the emotion.
Andoh gives a magnetic performance for fans of Wild Swans and anyone interested in learning about China.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063480070
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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