Bev S. Weiler

This was one of the best books I've heard since The History of Love. The narration was spot on (except for perhaps when speaking a couple of the Japanese phrases, but this may have been intentional). Feodor Chin's ability to vary his voice across the years and for each of the characters, not only in tone and accent, but in the more subtle matters of "how" something would be said, made listening to this book a rare pleasure. Jamie Ford's writing is crisp, engaging, and insightful. It allows the listener/reader into a world seldom seen by outsiders, and events of our nation's history that are still rarely spoken about. The diverse cast of characters is three-dimensional and believable, and Ford skillfully avoids stereotypical portrayals and easy solutions to diffucult issues. The book is already on order to join my hardback collection, but I will keep the audiofiles with the very short lists of books worth another listen.

First let me say that I LOVE Pearl Cleage's writing. I've read or listened to everything she has written--often more than once. I was so excited to see a new book by Ms. Cleage that I downloaded this one without a second thought. However, I can't even make it past the first half hour of this book. The characters in Cleage's Atlanta have always been real to me, but this flight into the world of fantasy and not-of-this-world creatures was a bit too much. It isn't that I don't occasionally like books along those lines (though not often), but it is neither what I expect from this author nor what I value in her writing. Overall, if you are a Cleage fan, don't expect this to be like anything she's done before, and if you're not but like stories about fantastical beings in the "real" world, then this might be the book for you.

Pearl Cleage, one of my favorite authors, has done it again with "Seen it All, Done the Rest." Her characters are real, three-dimensional, and believable, and Robin Miles' narration is engaging, varied, and best of all, the characters are easily distinguishable. The mix between these two women's amazing talents makes you care about the author's characters, and want to hear more of their voices personified by the narrator.