This week we have an audio original, a Holocaust novel involving magical realism, and deep thoughts about our environmental crisis. Please note that all audiobooks are available at local bookstores and libraries.
The World That We Knew
Alice Hoffman; read by Judith Light
Simon & Schuster Audio, five hours, eight CDS, $29.99/www.audible.com, $20.99
Actress and narrator Light has a memorable voice — a soothing, moderately deep timbre and a cadence like no other. However, she sometimes overdoes it and one wishes she had pulled back a bit, as this story is dramatic enough without her underscoring it vocally. This unusual mash-up of history and fable gives you a lot to think about in a Holocaust story that is much more fleshed out and more magical than the usual espionage trope. Trying to save her daughter, a Jewish mother creates a golem to guide her daughter to safety and the ramifications are not what those involved expected. Grade: A-minus
I Eat Men Like Air
Alice Berman; read by Elizabeth Evans
Audible Original, 14 hours, $29.99/ www.audible.com, $34.95
This Audible-only mystery, which is currently not available in print, is a steamy and quite adult look at the ramifications of a particularly ugly evening in which a party went off the rails. It is really less a mystery than an exploration of complicated and troubled people navigating a world of privilege in which little is denied. The writing is a little sloppy, but the characters are intriguing and sometimes quite humorous. The material is very mature and includes violence. Grade: B
We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast
Jonathan Safran Foer; read by the author
Macmillan Audio, four hours, four CDS, $25/www.audible.com, $20.99
Foer has a lot to say about what we have done to the planet and how we can change it — mostly by reducing our intake of meat. However, this is somewhat less than user-friendly in that it relies heavily on a stream of consciousness that is too meandering to fully keep our attention. Foer’s personal life features heavily in each chapter and what we really need are solutions that he does not readily offer. This collection of essays is read by the author, and he reads with deliberation, but not a lot of emotion. There is some deep thinking going on here, but it feels unfinished and needs a stronger, surer narrator. Grade: B-minus
