Bestselling YA fantasy author Sabaa Tahir’s first contemporary novel, All My Rage (10.5 hours), is told from three points of view, and each character gets their own voice actor in the audiobook production. Narrators Kamran R. Khan, Kausar Mohammed and Deepti Gupta bring personality and insight to their performances, contributing to the believability of this heavy, beautiful novel. At the same time, each actor maintains a similar tone of dramatic suspense to build a cohesive listening experience.
Khan narrates as Sal—a high school student challenged by his academic situation, his father’s alcoholism and his mother’s illness—in a voice deep with suppressed feeling, conveying an almost hypnotic sense of impending doom. Noor, Sal’s former friend and would-be love interest, is energetically brought to life through Mohammed’s gravelly voice. Misbah, Sal’s mother, performed by Gupta, has the wistful, accented voice of a wiser, middle-aged immigrant who’s weak with illness.
Each actor reads in a measured pace that allows listeners to envision the scenes and feel the weight of the characters’ emotions and relationships. This is a riveting production that most readers won’t want to end.
