It takes a full six minutes at the end of this unforgettable audio production to read the cast list of 166 actors: comedian Nick Offerman, author David Sedaris, Hollywood A-listers Carrie Brownstein, Don Cheadle, Lena Dunham, Bill Hader, Miranda July, Julianne Moore, Ben Stiller, Susan Sarandon, and Jeffrey Tambor, and others. The main challenge of Saunders’s Civil War–era novel is fragmentation. In addition to the plethora of characters to keep straight, the novel features several challenging elements of postmodern fiction: punctuationless sentences, a constantly shifting perspective, and a mélange of factual snippets and boldly fabricated sources. The effect, however, is a wonder brought to life in these performances. Sedaris steals the show as Mr. Bevins, a wry and lonely spirit who tarries in the titular bardo, mourning the lover who left him. Two other performances deserve special mention: Kirby Heyborne, a veteran audiobook narrator, more than holds his own in this star-studded cast, breaking listeners’ hearts with his quiet and sensitive portrayal of Mr. Lincoln’s recently deceased boy Willie. And one of the book’s best performances belongs to Saunders himself, who plays the Reverend Thomas, a timid man of the cloth who is haunted by sin—but what sin, however, he doesn’t know. If fiction lovers listen to just one audiobook in 2017—or ever—it should be this one. A Random House hardcover. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 04/21/2017 | Details & Permalink

We Need Diverse Books cofounder Oh brings together some of juvenile fiction’s top stars with this collection of stories about young people of many races, cultures, and sexual orientations. All of the performances in the audio edition of this anthology are good, but two in particular are outstanding: Sunil Malhotra, a character actor with a string of high-profile narration credits, brings a nerdy vulnerability to the titular “Flying Lessons” by Soman Chainani. Portraying an uncertain Indian-American tween and his larger-than-life grandmother on a European vacation, Malhotra captures both characters’ deepest longings. In another terrific performance, author Kwame Alexander recites his own fast-talking poetry-as-prose contribution to the collection, “Seventy-Six Dollars and Forty-Nine Cents,” about a boy who may or may not have mind-reading superpowers. While the audio format doesn’t allow listeners to witness the unusual structure of Alexander’s “novella in verse” with its brief lines, numerous parenthetical asides, and copious wordplay, it’s a whole lot of fun to hear as Alexander whips through one autobiographical poem after another in a grand musical rhythm. Honorable mention for this collection goes to voice actor Julia Whelan for her sensitive performance of “Secret Samantha” by Tim Federle. Ages 8–12. A Crown hardcover. (Jan.)

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Perkins does not try to dramatize one or another event, plays no vocal games with humor or irony, and makes no effort to distinguish the voices of the innumerable Chinese and American players in this history of U.S.-China relations from the 18th century to the Obama administration. The book is strongest when focusing on America’s contributions to China, but Pomfret gives China some credit for cooperative periods and blames both countries for the recurring love-hate pattern in their relationship over the centuries. Reader Perkins offers a clear, well-paced, and perfectly serviceable rendering of Pomfret’s comprehensive book. A Holt hardcover. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 04/21/2017 | Details & Permalink

Voice actor Perkins brings a crisp and smooth delivery to philosopher Dennett’s advanced treatise about the origins of consciousness. Dennett makes a convincing case, based on a rapidly growing body of experimental evidence, that a materialist theory of mind is within reach. Not surprisingly, Dennett’s material incorporates rather intricate concepts from a host of disciplines in both social and physical sciences, and while Perkins moves along at an engaging pace that resists monotone, like Dennett he doesn’t seem inclined to make the experience less weighty for casual listeners. Those not steeped in the ongoing debate about materialism and dualism may find themselves compelled to hit pause to play catch-up. But for listeners who have the prerequisite knowledge, Perkins’s rendering of Dennett’s prose will certainly satisfy. A Norton hardcover. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 04/21/2017 | Details & Permalink

Provocateur Paglia lends her voice to the audio edition of her latest collection of essays, which spans her career from her breakthrough 1990 study, Sexual Personae, to the present. Paglia’s croaky voice adds character to the reading as she spews contempt on a variety of topics, such as university culture, poststructuralism, women’s studies programs, and anything mainstream, while rehashing major moments of second-wave feminism. She overenunciates certain words and syllables while speeding past others; the combination creates a jolting rhythm with an air of pompousness. It’s oddly fitting for her style of prose, which has a tendency toward short declarative sentences and grandiose rhetoric. Listeners familiar with Paglia’s work will be neither surprised nor disappointed. A Knopf hardcover. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 04/21/2017 | Details & Permalink

In her debut memoir, originally published in 2010 and now available in the audio format, Batuman revisits her seven years as a grad student in Stanford’s comp lit program, where she focused on Russian novelists. Chapters on Babel, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and other great Russian writers alternate with chapters describing a summer the author spent studying Uzbek in Samarkand. Batuman’s narration, like her prose, is charming and self-deprecating, and she deftly navigates the book’s many Russian names and words. She’s an inexperienced audio narrator, but her naïve approach is perfect for the material. In between meditations on life, art, and graduate school, she relates amusing anecdotes about her subjects: listeners may be surprised to learn that Tolstoy was a skilled tennis player or that, during the Polish-Soviet War of 1920, Babel may have saved the life of downed American pilot Merian Caldwell Cooper, who went on to direct King Kong in 1933. Batuman’s wit and eye for absurdist detail come alive in this long-awaited audio edition. A Farrar, Straus & Giroux paperback. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 04/21/2017 | Details & Permalink

Radio personality and voice-over actress O’Day brings considerable poise and warmth to the new memoir from Colter, widow of country music legend Waylon Jennings and an accomplished songwriter and recording artist in her own right. O’Day strives diligently to portray Colter’s essence, particularly her resolve to practice deep religious faith enthusiastically without coming across as preachy to her late husband and his fellow bad boys in the rough and tumble “outlaw country” scene that took Nashville by storm in the 1970s. Most of the figures about whom Colter reflects—Jennings, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and others—are male and low-voiced, and O’Day doesn’t necessarily try to recreate the baritones and basses, yet the character and style come through. Thanks to O’Day, the listener gains a strong a sense of Colter as a master storyteller with a keen eye for human foibles and eccentricities. O’Day’s talent especially shines in such entertaining episodes as the banter between Jennings and Cash as both recover from similar heart procedures during the same week in the same hospital ward. A Thomas Nelson hardcover. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 04/21/2017 | Details & Permalink

Smith’s standalone, inspired by the real-life mass murder of a family in 1980s Seattle, follows the fateful adventures of fictional WWII hero Cal Kusek and his wife Betsy, who, unhappy in 1950 Manhattan, seek greener pastures for their children, Jo and Lance, on a ranch in Rapid City, South Dakota. Though a very blue family in very red state, they manage to find happiness until Cal, a lawyer as well as a rancher, is urged to run for the U.S. Senate. His opponent, Thaddeus Hayes, is a deceptively friendly, fear-spreading loudmouth liar who tries to turn the town and the state against Cal and Betsy. His careless use of the word “traitor” tips over the first in a long line of dominoes that eventually leads to the 1985 spree killing that bookends the novel. Reader McClain, a Daytime Emmy Award–winning actress, initially establishes a solemn mood, with the adult Jo returning to her hometown after the murders. When the plot hops back to the ’50s, with the Kuseks meeting their new friends and neighbors, some with distinctive rural accents, McClain switches to a more upbeat tone, and she expresses more extreme emotion during the family’s highs and lows. McClain provides the faux good ole boy Hayes and another key antagonist, a sociopath slacker with the memorable moniker Honeybee Jones, with voices that ring with villainy. A Knopf hardcover. (Feb.)

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Gaiman is a talented storyteller, as both writer and a narrator. In his latest audiobook, he turns both talents to an imaginative retelling of old Norse folklore. The figures in these myths are well-known to most people: Odin, the highest and oldest of the gods; his son Thor the Thunderer; and Loki, his conniving and treacherous blood brother. They, along with the other gods who inhabit Asgard, live in a universe of giants, elves, dwarves, and men. Gaiman chronicles the history of these gods and their varied adventures from the beginning of their creation to their ending at the final battle of Ragnarok, and on to their eventual renewal. Gaiman’s affection for these myths is evident throughout the audiobook. His gods bellow and rage and whine and battle and plot, but his reading is never over the top. His mellow British-accented voice keeps the pace consistent, hits all the right dramatic notes, and brings new life, for a new generation to discover, to these ancient stories. A Norton hardcover. (Feb.)

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Actor Vance’s reading of Faye’s expertly rendered collection of “lost” Sherlock Holmes adventures is a delight for any fan of the Great Detective. Set in chronological order, the 15 stories compiled in this anthology cover Holmes from the beginning of his career, before taking up residence at 221B Baker Street, to the 20th century. Along the way he solves cases of theft, deceit, blackmail, and, of course, murder most foul. Vance impeccably captures the tone of these tales of crime and deduction. His characterizations are faultless: Watson sounds sincere, stalwart, and true. Vance keeps Holmes analytical, sardonic, and cool, for the most part, but does not miss any opportunity to show the more human side of the detective, something that is often lacking in other pastiches. But it is Vance’s ability to portray the strong friendship between the two that listeners will remember. A Mystery Press hardcover. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 04/21/2017 | Details & Permalink