We are listening to the ladies this week with a poignant, multi-generational tale of female Korean divers; a modern Gothic thriller; and mini-biographies from refugee girls. Please remember that all titles are available in your local bookshop or library.
The Island of Sea Women
Lisa See; read by Jennifer Lim
Simon & Schuster Audioworks, 13 hours and 30 minutes, 11 CDs, $39.99/www.audible.com, $27.99
This multi-generational tale of women living on an island off the coast of Korea details a world in which women have power and authority and work hard labor as deep-sea divers. Two women and their deep friendship are at the heart of a tale in which war and disruption, including American occupation, destroy and alter lives. Lim sounds a bit perfunctory at times, but for the most part is an appropriate narrator who understands the correct pronunciation of local names and locales. The novel is a beautifully written, sublime piece of fiction; the narration is a near miss. Grade: A-minus
The Turn of the Key
Ruth Ware; read by Imogen Church
Simon & Schuster Audioworks, 12 hours, 10 CDs, $19.99/ www.audible.com, $27.99
Ruth Ware is good at writing creepy tales and this novel about a nanny moving into an apparently haunted smart house takes a Gothic trope and modernizes it. Even better is an ending that you won’t see coming and reframes everything you’ve just heard. Narrator Church underscores the story’s eeriness, as she sounds appropriately young and energetic, easily conveying fright and desperation. This isn’t Ware’s best as it plods along in spots, but is still a lot of fun on a crisp autumn evening. Grade: B
We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World
Malala Yousafzai; read by Neela Vaswani, Deepti Gupta and a prologue read by the author
Hachette Audio, four hours, four CDS, $25/ www.audible.com, $28.50
Narration is a problem for this otherwise excellent, young-adult collection of mini-biographies introduced and featuring Malala Yousafzai. She detailed her own harrowing account before handing the reins over to eight other girls and young women whose lives were disrupted by war and terrorism. The stories are compelling and Malala is an excellent narrator: Her diction is clear, her accent almost lyrical, and her pacing and polish belie her age. However, many of the stories are read by Gupti, who does not have a pleasing voice and whose various accents are a distraction. Otherwise this is powerful and poignant. Grade: B-plus
