A dozen narrators perform this collection of stories about Chinese 20-somethings who are navigating the road to adulthood. All the narrators underscore the central drama of the stories, such as the clash of generations, the difficulties and joys of immigration, and the complexities of friendship. The characters are primarily the children of immigrants, university students abroad, or young adults, rich or poor, who are trying to find a future in today's China. Standout performances are Annie Q's smooth, soft portrayal of a woman who unwittingly finds social media fame in Paris, David Shih's interpretation of the emotional torment of a young, gay athlete who is in love with his heterosexual diving partner, and James Chen's characterizations of a factory manager who negotiates a marriage of convenience to gain a new country and wealth.
Pub Date: 2019
Duration: 6 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781984884237
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
American colleges are favorable locales for ghastly event and hair-tearing circumstance. There is, for instance, a good deal of pleasure to be had out of professor and past-prodigy Grady Tripp's awful life, as portrayed by Michael Chabon in WONDER BOYS. There is a certain amount of slapstick here, but it's balanced by Chabon's superb portrait of a gale-force mid-life crisis, a soul-destroying albatross of an unfinished novel and the mind-numbing inconsequence of writers' conferences. David Colacci sounds a little starved for oxygen in his reading, but that's not exactly out of keeping with Grady Tripp's personal gestalt.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: N/A
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
As a group of men bring their own emotional baggage to their football-obsessed reunion, R.C. Bray delivers his usual solid narration. He shifts his tones slightly but enough to put the listener in the motel with the men, revealing their foibles as the story progresses. The narrator's role in this book is a descriptive one, and Bray is a good guide. His narration becomes extra important because this is a rare instance when there almost isn't a protagonist. The author's well-written story--which alternates between serious and laugh-out-loud funny--uses quarterback Joe Theismann's 1985 injury, a broken leg, as a McGuffin.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781681680057
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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