One could almost accuse Ruby Dee of being a witch doctor. Her narration of this seminal collection of Black American folklore is nothing short of extraordinary. Using varying accents and dialects of the Deep South (Eatonville, Florida), she tells stories, she interrupts, she cuts up, she teases, she banters--she inhabits, not mere characters, but groups of characters--friends and neighbors gathered on the porch, in the dance hall, in a card game, hanging around the country store. Her off-the-beat vocal rhythms and prodigious energy create a narrative drive that propels the listener. And the stories are a treasure--traditional tales, explanatory tales, jokes and one-upmanship contests--here are ordinary people finding joy and comedy in everyday experience. As later African-American literature became increasingly militant, Hurston was accused of turning Black experience into a minstrel show. But her accomplishment, unappreciated for fifty years, was in revealing so intimately and eloquently how these people made it through their days--and nights.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 1998
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Harper 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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