“Before I ever learned to read, I came to love books by having them read aloud by my teacher Mrs. Gaither—a woman who clearly missed her calling as an actress. To this day, I love an audiobook that features a narrator who leans into the story—performing all the accents, local color, and emotion that the plot demands. The result is totally immersive and enthralling.” —Tayari Jones, author of Kin.
Dominic Hoffman is clearly auditioning for his part in the movie adaptation. He captures the complicated code-switching without compromising on the intellectual rigor of this retelling of Huck Finn. When Hoffman is funny, he’s really funny, and when it’s time for heartbreak, he’s merciless.
In this book, every character is the kind of person you would call “a character.” Listening, this book feels like a gate-crasher at a family reunion, but luckily the gifted narrators are there to remind you of all the relationships, subplots, and, of course—all the secrets.
This is a novel set in Chicken Hill, just outside of Philadelphia, where the African American and Jewish communities come together to save a child in danger. As you can imagine, it is a feast of accents and activity. Dominic Hoffman embodies each character regardless of race, ethnicity, or generation. The man contains multitudes—just like this fantastic novel.
Louise Erdrich is the only person who can populate a novel with a couple dozen fully realized characters—and then turn around and narrate the audiobook herself. I loved this book on the page; I loved it in my ears even more.
When a novel lives at the intersection of a posh boarding school and hardcore dystopia, you need a narrator that can serve up creepy respectability. Even before you realize what’s wrong, Rosalyn Landor’s performance lets you know straight away that whatever the problem is, it’s existential. Whatever the audio equivalent to a page-turner is—that’s what happens here.
Tayari Jones is an American author and academic. Her novel “American Marriage” is an international bestseller.
