The Joys of Listening

I’ve listened to a wide variety of audiobooks recently and found that for me, the best times to listen are while walking at night or driving long distances after dark. With minimal visual distraction, the words come alive and images play in my mind. Not all of the following audiobooks won awards, but each was memorable:

The Marriage Plot - Jeffrey Eugenides

Madeleine Hanna breaks out of her straight-and-narrow mold when she falls in love with charismatic loner Leonard Bankhead, while at the same time an old friend of hers resurfaces, obsessed with the idea that Madeleine is his destiny. Read by David Pittu.

 Caleb’s Crossing - Geraldine Brooks

            Brooks imagines the life of Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk, the first Native American to graduate from Harvard. The story is told by Bethia Mayfield, the daughter of a preacher who traveled from England to Martha's Vineyard to try and bring Christ to the Indians. Read by Jennifer Ehle.

Cloud Atlas - Stephen Mitchell

A lively exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution. Read by a full cast.

The Beautiful Ruins - Jess Walter

In this novel that spans fifty years, an Italian hotel keeper and his long-lost American starlet form the center of a glittering story filled with unforgettable characters. Read by Edoardo Ballerini.

The Pale King - David Foster Wallace

David Foster Wallace presents a fictitious version of himself as the protagonist in his final novel. When Wallace arrives for training at the IRS Regional Examination Center in Peoria, Illinois, everything appears normal. However, as Wallace quickly learns, normal just isn't the case. From the bizarre boredom-survival training to the wild personalities among his co-workers, Wallace is convinced the IRS is determined to dehumanize and humiliate him. The book was compiled by Wallace's friend and editor after his death.  Read by Robert Petkoff.

The Buddha in the Attic - Julie Otsuka

Otsuka presents the stories of six Japanese mail-order brides whose new lives in early twentieth-century San Francisco are marked by backbreaking migrant work, cultural struggles, children who reject their heritage, and the prospect of wartime internment. Read by Samantha Quan and Carrington MacDuffie.

State of Wonder - Ann Patchett

A researcher at a pharmaceutical company, Marina Singh, journeys into the heart of the Amazonian delta to check on her co:worker who  has been silent for two years--a dangerous assignment that forces Marina to confront the ghosts of her past. Performed by Hope Davis.