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The Angel of Rome

Review by Maya Fleischmann

Voice actors Edoardo Ballerini and Julia Whelan deliver exquisite performances in the audiobook for The Angel of Rome and Other Stories (8 hours), Jess Walter’s gratifying collection of vignettes about human connection and the twists of faith and fate.

Ballerini is masterful and controlled in his portrayal of ordinary people who experience something extraordinary. In “Fran’s Friend Has Cancer,” his expert pacing balances humor and darkness as Max bickers with his wife and realizes that an eavesdropper is recording their conversation. In the title story, Ballerini brings out 21-year-old Jack’s reluctance to study Latin in Rome—until the young man stumbles upon a higher cause, the actor Angelina Amadio.

Whelan’s crisp narration takes on humorous undertones in “Famous Actor” to portray an astute woman observing the absurdities of a self-absorbed actor. And in “Mr. Voice,” Whelan highlights the vulnerabilities of a girl raised by a stepfather who’s known for his popular radio personality, but whose big heart matters most at the end of the day.

Ballerini and Whelan infuse these engaging stories with warmth and surprise, making The Angel of Rome an ideal audiobook for readers who enjoyed Flights by Olga Tokarczuk and Exhalation by Ted Chiang.

Read our starred review of the print edition.

Edoardo Ballerini and Julia Whelan infuse Jess Walter's engaging, heartwarming stories with warmth and surprise.
NonfictionAudio

This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch

Review by Deborah Mason

In This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch: The Joy of Loving Something—Anything—Like Your Life Depends on It (6.5 hours), Australian journalist Tabitha Carvan offers an exuberant celebration of obsessions. Through her candid exploration of her own fascination with Benedict Cumberbatch, star of “Sherlock,” The Imitation Game and Doctor Strange, Carvan makes the case that women shouldn’t hide or diminish what brings them pleasure—rather, they should embrace it.

Tabitha Carvan
Read our interview with Tabitha Carvan: “When something brings people so much joy, why can’t we just let it?”

Carvan is a witty and ironic writer, and voice actor Tanya Schneider does an excellent job conveying the author’s humorous perspective. Why is it acceptable for a man to plaster his office with paraphernalia for his favorite sports team, but a woman can’t wear her Benedict Cumberbatch hoodie outside her house without embarrassment? Amid the humor, Carvan still takes her subject seriously, and Schneider not only captures Carvan’s perplexity as to why female obsessions remain hidden but also convincingly articulates Carvan’s argument that women need to share their passions publicly. We need to embrace the joy and strength that our passions bring us, Carvan insists.

Both funny and profound, this is a deeply enjoyable audiobook.

Voice actor Tanya Schneider convincingly articulates Tabitha Carvan's argument that women need to share their passions publicly. Both funny and profound, this is a deeply enjoyable audiobook.
FictionAudio

The Twilight World

Review by Mari Carlson

Renowned filmmaker Werner Herzog has written more than a dozen books and screenplays, but The Twilight World (3.5 hours) is his first novel. Translated by Michael Hofmann and short enough to qualify as a novella, it’s the fictionalized story of Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda, the real-life intelligence officer in the Imperial Japanese Army who defended Lubang Island in the Philippines for decades, unaware that World War II had ended. By zeroing in on Onoda’s singular pursuit, the novel explores the process and impact of globalization through one man’s story. 

Herzog narrates the novel in his iconic German accent—pronounced yet easy to understand, with an exacting, measured delivery that captures Onoda’s fierce, calculating character. The tension is highest when Onoda finds items in the jungle, such as a newspaper or supplies, and he approaches them with suspicion and an investigator’s prowess. Herzog’s lifelong fascination with the jungle serves him well here, as he captures the cricket sounds, humidity and overall density of the setting.

Werner Herzog narrates his debut novel with an exacting, measured delivery that captures Onoda's fierce, calculating character.
NonfictionAudio

Raising Raffi

Review by Mari Carlson

In his enlightening Raising Raffi: The First Five Years (6 hours), journalist, translator, professor and novelist Keith Gessen shares how he’s been affected and changed by the process of raising his son. He discusses how his expectations of parenting have compared to the reality, evaluates the evolution of parenting literature and reflects on being a Russian immigrant. Thematic chapters make the book easy to read in installments. In one of the longest and most poignant sections, Gessen’s “bear dad” engages with the “tiger mom” phenomenon.

Gessen reads his own audiobook, bringing candor and self-awareness to the performance. His New York accent is punchy and quick when conveying the pressures placed on contemporary fathers. Ultimately, he brings a sense of reassurance to his book, which charts a new approach to fatherhood with clarity, humor and pathos.

Read our starred review of the print edition.

Keith Gessen's narration brings a sense of reassurance to his memoir, which charts a new brand of fatherhood with clarity, humor and pathos.
Mystery & SuspenseAudio

Sparring Partners

Review by G. Robert Frazier

For his many fans, a new book from John Grisham is always a reason to celebrate, but audiobook listeners are in for a treat thanks to the excellent voice talents of Jeff Daniels, Ethan Hawke and January LaVoy.

Sparring Partners (10 hours) comprises three legal-thriller novellas, including “Homecoming,” a new story starring Grisham’s beloved hero Jake Brigance. Daniels (known for his roles in Dumb & Dumber, “American Rust,” “The Newsroom” and more) brings Jake and his supporting cast of characters to vibrant life. His playful Southern drawl is particularly fun when voicing Jake’s sometime legal partner and rival Harry Rex. 

Actor and novelist Hawke brings a more youthful vibe to Cody Wallace, the narrator of “Strawberry Moon,” with a performance marked by deadpan humor and emotional angst. In his final hours on death row for murder, Cody is both incredulous of and moved by the series of visitors to his cell. Award-winning audio narrator LaVoy capably voices the titular tale about feuding brothers who inherited a law firm from their father, who’s on the verge of a pardon from his prison sentence.

All three narrators highlight Grisham’s storytelling trademark: fascinating characters facing unusual circumstances with wry humor and real emotion.

Actors Jeff Daniels, Ethan Hawke and January LaVoy highlight John Grisham's wry humor and emotion in these three legal-thriller novellas.
AudioYA

I Kissed Shara Wheeler

Review by Norah Piehl

It’s just weeks before graduation, and supersmart, beautiful Shara Wheeler—prom queen and daughter of the principal of Alabama’s conservative Willowgrove Christian Academy—has disappeared. But not before kissing her academic rival, Chloe Green, a move that both shocks and intrigues Chloe. Casey McQuiston’s young adult debut, I Kissed Shara Wheeler (9.5 hours), is both a mystery (of sorts) and an unconventional romance, as Chloe’s hunt for Shara shakes up Willowgrove’s senior class.

Readers who have fallen in love with McQuiston’s thoughtful, funny queer romances for adults (Red, White & Royal Blue and One Last Stop) will be charmed to see how the author  applies their storytelling skills to the teen milieu. Narrator Natalie Naudus admirably voices more than a half-dozen significant characters, imparting individuality and personality to teens embracing a variety of identities.

Read our starred review of the print edition of ‘I Kissed Shara Wheeler.’

Narrator Natalie Naudus voices more than a half-dozen significant characters in Casey McQuiston's young adult debut, imparting individuality and personality to teens embracing a variety of identities.
Audio

Bittersweet

Review by Autumn Allen

Inviting author Susan Cain to read her own audiobook for Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole (7.5 hours) was an excellent choice. As a meditation on the importance of melancholy, the book requires just the right amount of energy—enthusiasm, even—to keep listeners forging ahead. With her easygoing, conversational pace and a voice full of curiosity and optimism, Cain convinces us that pushing past any ambivalence about sorrow will be rewarding.

The author narrates her personal anecdotes with fondness, bemusement and fascination. Her interviews feel like exciting scenes in a story, and she brings listeners right along on these encounters. It sounds as if she wrote the book to be read aloud.

Fans of lectures by thought leaders such as Brené Brown will enjoy Bittersweet immensely, finding much to ponder about the role of intense emotion in our search for human connection.

Read more: 4 gentle guides for healing, including ‘Bittersweet.’

It seems like Bittersweet was made to be an audiobook. Author Susan Cain narrates with fondness, bemusement and fascination, convincing listeners to forge ahead in this meditation on the importance of melancholy.
RomanceAudio

A Lady for a Duke

Review by Anna Zeitlin

Alexis Hall leaps from the world of contemporary romantic comedies to the realm of Regency romance with A Lady for a Duke (15.5 hours).

Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood, has been moping around his family’s country estate ever since his closest friend died at the Battle of Waterloo. What Gracewood doesn’t realize is that his friend is not dead but finally living as her true self, Viola Carroll, a transgender woman. When Viola reluctantly accompanies her employer to Gracewood’s home, she is thrown into a complicated plot filled with secrets and yearning.

Hall puts his characters through the wringer, making their hard-won happily ever after all the more satisfying. British transgender voice actor Kay Eluvian delivers on the moodiness and longing of Hall’s novel, portraying Viola with feminine strength and Gracewood as a dashing, brooding hero. As they come together, their joy feels radical in the best way.

Read about how Alexis Hall is seizing his moment.

Transgender voice actor Kay Eluvian delivers on the moodiness and longing of Alexis Hall's novel, portraying Viola with feminine strength and Gracewood as a dashing, brooding hero.
AudioMemoir

We Were Dreamers

Review by G. Robert Frazier

No one would expect Chinese Canadian actor Simu Liu’s origin story to be as electrifying and action-packed as that of the iconic superhero he portrays on the big screen, but We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story (8 hours) is still compelling, uplifting and, at times, totally unexpected.

In 2021, Liu became a household name after starring in Marvel’s first superhero movie with an Asian lead character, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. In the audiobook of his memoir, Liu confidently narrates the story of his rise to stardom, from his childhood living with his grandparents in rural China to his reunion with his parents in Canada, from his failed attempts to fit into the corporate business world to his journey to success as a TV actor. As Liu regales listeners with stories about his early fascination with astronauts and science fiction, his calm, laid-back demeanor and passionate voice are a winning combination.

Discover the three best celebrity memoirs of summer 2022, including ‘We Were Dreamers.’

Marvel actor Simu Liu narrates the audiobook for his memoir, and his calm, laid-back demeanor and passionate voice are a winning combination.
Audio

Fall 2022 preview: Most anticipated audiobooks

Feature by Cat, Deputy Editor

Audiobook listeners never have to live a single moment without the joy of stories. No errand, no chore, no leisurely stroll is complete without a book. These are the 14 audiobooks that we’re most excited to check out this fall.

Starry Messenger cover

Starry Messenger by Neil deGrasse Tyson, read by the author
Macmillan Audio | September 20

Neil deGrasse Tyson, everyone’s favorite astrophysicist, reads his own “Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization.” Imagine star-gazing while listening to this one—yes, please.

The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander, read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Hachette Audio | September 27

Stories told in verse can be especially powerful as an audiobook, and no one writes verse novels quite like Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, who delivered an outstanding performance for the audiobook of Alex Michaelides’ The Maidens, will bring to life this story of a young boy’s epic journey.

The Sporty One by Melanie Chisholm, read by the author
Hachette Audio | September 27

Yooooo I’ll tell you what I want: a memoir by Sporty Spice, read by Sporty Spice. This will be so much fun for fans of the 1990s icon—queen of the high pony and badass in track pants.

Making a Scene cover

Making a Scene by Constance Wu, read by the author
Simon & Schuster Audio | October 4

The Golden Globe-nominated star of Crazy Rich Asians and Hustlers narrates her own collection of essays, about her life both in and out of Hollywood, which she wrote in the aftermath of severe backlash to her tweets about the “Fresh Off the Boat” reboot. “While my book is not always the most flattering portrayal, it’s as honest as I know how to be,” she tweeted in July. We’re looking forward to hearing about the experience in her own words. 

A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga, read by Ariana Delawari and Jacob McNatt
HarperAudio | October 4 

The next middle grade novel from Jasmine Warga (The Shape of Thunder) is primarily narrated by a fictional Mars Rover, whose little robot voice will be uniquely fun on audio. The other narrative voice is Sophia, the daughter of the lead engineer on the robot and who writes letters to the determined little rover. For most of the novel, Sophia is a child, but while Rover goes on its mission, Sophia begins to grow up, which will be an interesting narrator challenge.

Dying of Politeness by Geena Davis, read by the author
HarperAudio | October 10

Here’s another big Hollywood memoir, read by the author—this one from two-time Academy Award winner Geena Davis, best known for her iconic roles in Thelma & Louise and A League of Their Own.

The Botany of Desire cover

The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan, read by the author
Random House Audio | October 18

One of the best things about the burgeoning audiobook industry is that publishers are going back and rerecording old audiobooks, or even producing audiobooks for the very first time. Michael Pollan does an outstanding job narrating his own books, so this new production of his 2001 book, about the relationship between humans and our domesticated plants, is sure to be a winner.

Greywaren by Maggie Stiefvater, read by Will Patton
Scholastic | October 18

Will Patton is one of the best audiobook narrators out there, so it’s no wonder that he’s the go-to voice for Maggie Stiefvater’s books. (He’s also read a ton of Stephen King and James Lee Burke audiobooks, as well as Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann.) This fall, he brings his talents to the highly anticipated third book in Stiefvater’s Dreamer Trilogy.

Signal Fires cover

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro, read by the author
Random House Audio | October 18

Dani Shapiro is best known as a memoirist, and thanks to the success of her book Inheritance and subsequent podcast, “Family Secrets,” she has been universally embraced as something of an expert on the process of discovering and coming to terms with skeletons in the family closet. She brings all that background to the narration of her upcoming novel, about a terrible car crash and its long-term impact on several families.

Inciting Joy by Ross Gay
Hachette Audio | October 25

It hasn’t been announced yet, but what if Ross Gay narrates his upcoming essay collection? He read The Book of Delights, after all. And while we don’t want to make assumptions, our fingers are crossed.

Surrender cover

Surrender by Bono, read by the author
Random House Audio | November 1

Bono, activist and lead singer of the Irish rock band U2, created 40 original drawings for his first memoir, which will make for an appealing package for fans—but we feel like listening to him read his own audiobook will be even better.

Have I Told You This Already? by Lauren Graham, read by the author
Random House Audio | November 15

We’re expecting lots of reasons to laugh when listening to this new essay collection from “Gilmore Girls” actor Lauren Graham, who has proven herself to be a strong writer of both fiction and nonfiction. We especially when she reads her own audiobooks because she’s totally unafraid to be a little silly.

The Light We Carry cover

The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama, read by the author
Random House Audio | November 15

First Lady Michelle Obama’s narration of her previous memoir, the bestselling Becoming, was a real standout, and fans have continued to enjoy her insight and benefit from her expertise by listening to her winning podcast. To our delight, Obama will narrate her next book—a mixture of memoir and self-help—as well.

Butts by Heather Radke, read by the author
Simon & Schuster Audio | November 22

Heather Radke is a contributing editor and reporter at the Peabody Award-winning program “RadioLab,” so her narration of this scientific and cultural history of the female butt should be fascinating and wildly entertaining.

Discover all our most anticipated books of fall 2022.

We’re looking ahead to audiobooks from Michelle Obama, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bono and more.
FictionAudio

Tracy Flick Can’t Win

Review by Maya Fleischmann

Tracy Flick, Tom Perrotta’s protagonist from his darkly humorous novel Election, returns in Tracy Flick Can’t Win (6 hours), an engrossing story of retrospection, regret and self-fulfillment. Now the vice principal at a suburban New Jersey high school, Tracy is vying for the principal gig, which means navigating school politics and the sophomoric behavior of the adults around her.

Award-winning actor Lucy Liu’s sensitive performance of Tracy captures every moment of confidence and frustration. Her controlled tones highlight the loneliness, self-doubt and disappointment that Tracy feels after sidelining her political aspirations to take care of her mother and raise her daughter. “Better Call Saul” actor Dennis Boutsikaris’ entertaining performance of retiring principal Jack Weede’s misguided masculine mindset is sprinkled with guilt and shame. Other superb cast members (Jeremy Bobb, Ramona Young, Ali Andre Ali and Pete Simonelli) are equally impressive, conveying the nuances of strained personal and professional relationships while delivering quietly compelling reactions to the story’s climatic ending.

Read our review of the print edition of Tracy Flick Can’t Win.

Actor Lucy Liu’s sensitive performance of Tracy Flick captures every moment of confidence and frustration in Tom Perrotta's engrossing novel of retrospection, regret and self-fulfillment.
NonfictionAudioMemoir

Gathering Blossoms Under Fire

Review by Tami Orendain

Alice Walker’s wit and wisdom are on full display in Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker, 1965–2000 (23.5 hours). This compilation takes a deep dive into Walker’s private writings, including selected journal entries, poetry and recollections of historical events. Notes from the book’s editor, Valerie Boyd, anchor listeners to Walker’s historical and personal context. These journals bridge the gap between public and private, allowing listeners a close perspective on Walker’s most intimate thoughts on activism, religion, women’s rights, sexuality, writing and myriad other topics.

Walker is candid in her reflections and criticisms, a storyteller through and through, and the audiobook paints a vivid image of her life within the broader turns of history. Read by Aunjanue Ellis, with Janina Edwards voicing the introduction and footnotes, it’s a uniquely mesmerizing listen. Walker concludes the audiobook with her own narration of the postscript, which she wrote in 2021, emphasizing the personal nature of publicizing her journals.

Woven together with her creative expertise, Walker’s stories make for an insightful and intriguing listening experience.

Read our starred review of the print edition of Gathering Blossoms Under Fire.

Narrated by Aunjanue Ellis and Janina Edwards, Gathering Blossoms Under Fire makes for an insightful and intriguing audiobook. The best part: Alice Walker reads the postscript, emphasizing the personal nature of publicizing her journals.
NonfictionAudioBiography

The Palace Papers

Review by Maya Fleischmann

In the audiobook recording of The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor—the Truth and the Turmoil (18 hours), English author and journalist Tina Brown gives an energetic and engrossing performance as she shares juicy details about the strife and scandal that have surrounded the British monarchy for decades. Even before Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’ sordid phone conversation, before Princess Diana won the hearts of people around the world, the royal family had long been the subject of rumors and shocking news, such as the abdication of King Edward VIII following his love affair with American divorc’e Wallis Simpson. As Brown explains, after the public’s obsession with Diana, the royal family sought to ensure that no family member would ever garner such superstar status again. And then came Meghan Markle.

In this scintillating listening experience, Brown tempers her ironic, scathing observations with straightforward, reverent tones. Anglophiles will easily succumb to this fascinating book, which is ideal for readers who enjoyed Diana: Her True Story—in Her Own Words by Andrew Morton and Meghan and Harry: The Real Story by Lady Colin Campbell.

English author and journalist Tina Brown gives an energetic and engrossing performance as she shares juicy details about the strife and scandal that has surrounded the British monarchy for decades.

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