On the Road: Hot Listening in the Summertime
May 15, 2010Audiobooks make great traveling companions. If this summer sees you on a road trip or a long flight, consider these worthy friends to take along. From cozy mysteries to gore-filled thrillers, award-winning history and historical fiction, a classic meant to be heard, and a big juicy Victoriana novel, these titles make both great reads and listens—leaving readers and listeners in a win-win situation.
Sometimes trips pass more quickly in good company. Consider spending it with Flavia de Luce, heroine of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, read by Jayne Entwistle (8 CDs. library ed. Books on Tape. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4159-6448-4. $80). Flavia is a menace to her older sisters, a bit too precocious, and an utterly charming 11-year-old chemist. When she discovers a corpse in the garden, and her father is added to the suspect list, Flavia abandons her potions to solve the crime. Entwistle’s fine narration brings Flavia to life, perfectly capturing the avid excitement that peppers her outlook on the world. Entwistle’s attention to pacing keeps the story nicely on edge, and the rhythm of her reading helps listeners slip into the delightful mood of the novel.
The jam and snarl of traffic will melt away in the moody and atmospheric company of The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, read by Caroline Lee (16 CDs. library ed. Bolinda Audio. 2008. ISBN 978-1-921415-72-2. $123.95). Spanning a century and detailing multiple characters, the novel is a richly updated Victoriana puzzle of lost identity, secret gardens, and wispy and dark tales of lore. It begins with a foundling, Nell, somehow left alone on a dock in Australia in 1913. In the present day, Cassandra, grieving over her grandmother Nell’s death, searches Nell’s old diaries to find any clue to her mysterious origins. The quest takes Cassandra to a garden in a Cornish village and begins the third story—that of the Authoress. Lee keeps the complex tale under control, guiding readers through the shifting perspectives and jumps in time. She also infuses the reading with a perfect pitch and sensibility, making this darkly fascinating tale a richly rewarding listen.
Match The Iliad by Homer, read by Stanley Lombardo (12 CDs. retail ed. Parmenides Audio. 2006. ISBN 978-1-930972-08-7. $42), to a long straight drive with nothing much to see so that you can safely sink into the meter. Homer’s dark meditation features the rage and regret of Achilles during the Trojan War, at the siege of Ilium. The epic was meant to be recited aloud, and Lombardo’s spellbinding narration acts as a time capsule, hurling listeners back to the heroic age and placing them in the presence of a master storyteller. His voice slips into chant, rises and crests with the terrible violence of battle, and shifts into pure incantation as Homer transitions into the emotional caverns of the story.
Flying to Europe? Take with you Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, read by Simon Slater (18 CDs. library ed. Macmillan Audio from BBC Audiobooks America. 2010. ISBN 978-0-7927-7115-9. $129.95). Henry the VIII’s machinations to rid himself of Katherine in favor of Anne Boleyn are seen through the character of Thomas Cromwell, the self-made man who rose from obscurity to become, for some time, one of Henry’s most trusted and powerful advisors. Mantel gets the rich pageantry and conniving schemes just right in her richly detailed historical saga, and Slater gets Mantel just right as well. His reading does justice to the novel’s language, slipping into character voices as deftly as Cromwell negotiated court politics.
If you go to New York City this summer, Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child, read by Dick Hill (12 CDs. library ed. Books on Tape. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4159-6288-6. $100), is a great traveling companion, especially while riding the subway. In this 13th series title, Jack Reacher takes on Al-Qaeda and an alphabet soup of U.S. governmental agencies—all in a finely detailed urban landscape. While the gore gets pretty thick, Hill keeps the reading on an even keel and narrates Reacher’s first-person story with just the right pacing—speeding up where the story races and slowing down during the brief moments of exposition. Hill, who has read Child before, becomes Reacher, creating a voice for the character that is a solid punch of power—crisp, somewhat flat, always offhandedly assured.
Going for a historic driving tour? Try The Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gordon-Reed, read by Karen White (25 CDs. library ed. Tantor Audio. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4001-3975-0. $119.99). Gordon-Reed’s research into the lives of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, their children and descendants, as well as Sally’s ancestors, is rigorous and fascinating. White’s reading is nicely paced and crisply articulated. Her clear voice carries readers through the intricate relationships of family, while her agile pacing helps listeners navigate the scholarly exploration of life at Monticello.
