Literary Fiction Audiobooks | Literature

"A novel of Felice Bauer, Franz Kafka's first fiancée, and the story behind Letters to Felice Franz Kafka scholars know Felice Bauer, his onetime fiancée, through his Letters to Felice, as little more than a woman with a raucous laugh and a taste for bourgeois comforts. Life After Kafka is her story. The novel begins in 1935 as Felice flees with her children from Hitler's Berlin, following her family and members of Kafka's entourage—including Grete Bloch, Max Brod, and Salman Schocken—as they try to escape the horrors of the Holocaust. Years later, a man claiming to be Kafka's son approaches Felice's son in Manhattan and the drama surrounding Kafka's letters to Felice begins. While taking the measure of literary fame's long shadow, Life After Kafka depicts the magic and poison of memories, and what we cling to when all else is lost. Most of all, it illuminates the bravery required to move forward through the shattered remains of one world to rebuild life in a new one."

Magdaléna Platzová (Author), Christa Lewis (Narrator)

Audiobook

Bitterroot

"A forensic artist confronts a crime against her own family, while MAGA politics, racism, and violence rage in a small town in the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho. Set in the fictional town of Steeplejack, nestled in the Bitterroot Mountains, Hazel Mackenzie provides law enforcement with sketch art and victim reconstruction following suspected crimes. Hazel is catapulted from observer to participant when her husband dies in an accident and then soon after, her gay twin brother Kento is shot by a member of Steeplejack's growing anti-LGBTQ community during a gender reveal party for his child. Hazel soon discovers her husband wasn't who she thought he was. She uncovers hidden family secrets about her grandparents' forced internment during World War II, mirroring the same racism and prejudice that threaten to strip Kento and his husband of their basic rights to their baby. As physical violence charges up her driveway and engulfs her life, Hazel battles for herself, her brother, and a town torn apart by hate. And somehow during all this, she stumbles on a different kind of love and a more courageous way to live her life."

Suzy Vitello (Author), Cindy Kay (Narrator)

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The Jump-Off Creek

"Winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award • Winner of the Oregon Book Award • A PEN/Faulkner Award Finalist ''An instant classic. . . a truly beautiful piece of American storytelling.'' —William Kittredge, author of Owning It All A widowed homesteader is determined to make a life in the unforgiving mountains of late 19th century Oregon in this “powerful novel of struggle and loss.” (Dallas Morning News) Acclaimed author Molly Gloss drew on pioneer diaries and old family stories to write this modern Western classic of a solitary woman’s frontier life. In the 1890s, Lydia Bennett Sanderson, a hardship-honed widow, leaves her old life behind and journey’s to Jump-Off Creek to make her way as a homesteader in the backcountry of Oregon. Her neighbors are few and far between: Tim Whiteaker and Blue Odell are trying to make a go of it on their small hardscrabble ranch, while Evelyn Walker – a young, lonely wife – is rearing her children in daunting isolation. And a trio of rootless cowboys are squatting in the mountains, their only income the bounty from poisoned wolves. While Lydia toils into the summer, building fences, digging ditches, and repairing her homestead cabin, Tim and Blue engage in a deadly spoilers game with the wolvers. As the months pass, there is good and ill fortune, the exchange of fair-and-square favors, and Lydia finds both courage and community in her determination to survive. An unforgettable tale in which “every gritty line of the story rings true” (Seattle Times), Gloss delivers an authentic and moving portrait of the American West."

Molly Gloss (Author), Sara Morsey (Narrator)

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Midnight at the Tuscany Hotel

"A story of the power of memory, Midnight at the Tuscany Hotel explores the mysteries of the mind, the truth behind lore, and the miracle of inspiration. After thirteen months at war, Vittorio Gandy is haunted by memories, and his former life is unrecognizable. Once a gifted painter, now he can’t bear the vivid, bleeding colors on a canvas. His young son doesn’t remember him, and his wife, Valerie, is scared of him. But the most disconcerting change is in Vitto’s father, Robert Gandy, who has fallen from being a larger-than-life sculptor to a man whose heart has been broken by the death of his muse—Vitto’s mother—and whose mind has been taken by Alzheimer’s. When Robert steals away in the night, Valerie, Vitto, and his new acquaintance and fellow veteran John go to the only place Robert might remember—the now-abandoned Tuscany Hotel, where it was once rumored that creatives of all kinds could find inspiration. When they find him there, Robert’s mind is sound and his memories are intact. Before long, word gets out that drinking from the fountain at the hotel can restore the memories of those suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia. The rooms once again fill up with guests—not artists this time, but people seeking control over their memories and lives. Vitto desperately wants to clear his own mind, but as he learns more about his late mother’s life and her tragic death, he begins to wonder whether drinking the water comes at a price."

J. H. Markert, James Markert (Author), Carlotta Brentan, Keith Brown (Narrator)

Audiobook

Estella's Revenge

"You know Miss Havisham. The world's most famous jilted bride. This is her daughter’s story. Raised in the darkness of Satis House where the clocks never tick, the beautiful Estella is bred to hate men and to keep her heart cold as the grave. She knows she doesn’t feel things quite like other people do but is this just the result of her strange upbringing? As she watches the brutal treatment of women around her, hatred hardens into a core of vengeance, and when she finds herself married to the abusive Drummle, she is forced to make a deadly choice: Should she embrace the darkness within her and exact her revenge? A stunningly original, gripping Gothic read, perfect for fans of Stacey Halls, Madeline Miller and Jessie Burton."

Barbara Havelocke (Author), Rosie Akerman (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Artist's War: A gripping and heartbreaking historical novel of love and sacrifice

"Hampshire, 1916: Alice traces her hand over the cold glass of the window as the pale morning light slips into the empty room. The pain of loss is worse than a physical one. Reminders of Edmund are all around her. The coldness of the sheet on the other half of the bed. The unrelenting silence in the cottage when her stepdaughter Lottie is at school or tucked up asleep at the end of another day. How did Alice ever imagine she could run their workshop in Edmund's absence? Keeping up with their stained-glass commissions takes every ounce of her strength and ingenuity, and as Lottie becomes more withdrawn, Alice worries desperately about how best to care for the troubled girl. Alice takes comfort from renewed closeness with her brother Victor, whose injuries prevent him from re-joining the fight, and who is enmeshed in undercover work for the Ministry of Munitions. She must go on, for Lottie, for Edmund, and for the life as artists they've built together. But with the news from the Front more desperate every day, she knows that the chance that she'll ever see Edmund again is slipping away from her. And then the telegram arrives… From the trenches of France to the fraught Home Front in rural England and London, The Artist's War is an unforgettable story of a society in the midst of devastating upheaval, and of courage in extraordinary times. Fans of Fiona Davis, Rhys Bowen and Kristin Hannah will adore this gripping historical love story. Readers love Clare Flynn's historical novels: "Such a beautiful series, it wrings every emotion out of you." Reader review, ????? "OMG what a story! The pages practically turned themselves. I couldn't put it down. I cannot wait for the next in the series!" Reader review, ????? "Wow - what a book! A joy to read." Reader review, ????? "Captivating… Had me hooked throughout. Brilliant." Reader review, ????? "What a beautiful story… keeps you awake at night desperate to know what happens next. I can't wait to read the next one." Reader review, ????? "Oh yes, yes, yes!!! Amazingly written… I cannot wait till the second book in this series." Reader review, ????? "I loved it from start to finish." Reader review, ????? "Held me enthralled from the first to the last page." Reader review, ????? "Absolutely loved this." Reader review, ????? "Absorbing, fascinating and beautifully written." Reader review, ????? "Loved it! Her best yet." Reader review, ????? "Fantastic. What a great book. Incredible." Reader review, ????? "A captivating tale… Five stars all around. A great historical fiction romance." Reader review, ????? "I am shocked at how quickly I was completely captivated by this book… I loved this book… I couldn't turn the pages fast enough." Reader review, ????? "Wonderful, touching, compelling…" Reader review, ????? I dare you not to fall in love. JJ Marsh, Author of the Beatrice Stubbs series "Totally captivating, this book had me hooked from the start. I loved how this story brought history to life with such amazing characters." Reader review, ?????"

Clare Flynn (Author), Annette Chown (Narrator)

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Kairos

"WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2024 'An ambitious story of love and betrayal' - Irish Times 'The ending is like a bomb thrown into your room -- you'll be reeling for days and weeks to come.' - Neel Mukherjee Berlin. 11 July 1986. They meet by chance on a bus. She is a young student, he is older and married. Theirs is an intense and sudden attraction, fuelled by a shared passion for music and art, and heightened by the secrecy they must maintain. But when she strays for a single night he cannot forgive her and a dangerous crack forms between them, opening up a space for cruelty, punishment and the exertion of power. And the world around them is changing too: as the GDR begins to crumble, so too do all the old certainties and the old loyalties, ushering in a new era whose great gains also involve profound loss. From a prize-winning German writer, this is the intimate and devastating story of the path of two lovers through the ruins of a relationship, set against the backdrop of a seismic period in European history."

Jenny Erpenbeck (Author), Lisa Flanagan (Narrator)

Audiobook

Mater 2-10

"Centred on three generations of a family of rail workers and a laid-off factory worker staging a high-altitude sit-in, Mater 2-10 vividly depicts the lives of ordinary working Koreans, starting from the Japanese colonial era, continuing through Liberation, and right up to the twenty-first century. It is at once a powerful account that captures a nation’s longing for a rail line to reconnect North and South, a magical-realist novel that manages to reflect the lives of modern industrial workers, and a culmination of Hwang’s career ? a masterpiece thirty years in the making. A true voice of a generation, Hwang shows again why he is unmatched when it comes to depicting the grief of a divided nation and bringing to life the cultural identity and trials and tribulations of the Korean people."

Hwang Sok-Yong (Author), Yong Kim (Narrator)

Audiobook

Blue Hour

"What is motherhood in the midst of uncertainty, buried trauma and an unravelling America? What it's always been - a love song. Our narrator is a gifted photographer, an uncertain wife, an infertile mother, a biracial woman in an America that's coming undone. As she grapples with a lifetime of ambivalence about motherhood, yet another act of police brutality makes headlines, and this time the victim is Noah, a boy in her photography class. Unmoored by the grief of a recent, devastating miscarriage and Noah's fight for his life, she worries she can no longer chase the hope of having a child, no longer wants to bring a Black body into the world. Yet her husband Asher - contributing white Jewish genes alongside her Black-Japanese ones to any potential child - is just as desperate to keep trying. Throwing herself into a new documentary on motherhood and making secret visits to Noah in the hospital, this is when she learns she is, impossibly, pregnant. As life shifts once more, she must decide what she dares hope for the shape of her future to be."

Tiffany Clarke Harrison (Author), Julienne Irons (Narrator)

Audiobook

Hazard Night

"'A delectable slice of dark academia' Times Crime Club Cleeve College is not for everyone... When Eve's husband is appointed housemaster at his old boarding school, Cleeve College, she gives up her life in London to join him. But the isolation and loss of autonomy threaten both her happiness and her marriage. The arrival of Fen, an enigmatic artist and wife of the new Classics teacher, is a welcome distraction. Fen doesn't play by the rules, and she and Eve enter into a game of escalating dares, disrupting the delicate balance of school life. Then, the morning after Hazard Night, a tradition that allows the students to run wild and play pranks for one day, a body is found. Someone has been murdered. And it seems everyone has something to hide..."

Laura Vaughan (Author), Helen Keeley, Jessica Preddy (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Sitter

"A highly original work told by Hortense Cezanne, the wife of the celebrated artist, as she witnesses an author in 2020 write a book about her life. Paris, 2020. A writer is confined to her hotel room during the early days of the pandemic, struggling to finish a novel about Hortense Cezanne, wife and sometime muse of the famous painter. Dead for more than a century, Hortense has been reawakened by this creative endeavour, and now shadows the writer through the locked-down city. But Hortense, always subject to the gaze of others, is increasingly intrigued by the woman before her. Who is she and what event hides in her past? Heartbreaking and perfectly formed, The Sitter explores the tension between artist and subject, and between the stories told about us and the stories we choose to tell. ‘The Sitter is phenomenal. A remarkable feat and enthralling work, The Sitter is elegantly constructed – a book that weaves between reality and unreality and wonder with supreme ease. The nested scenes work perfectly, with not a word nor theme nor scene wasted. It moves through layers like music, up and down registers of hope and awe, regret, sadness and self-knowledge. The historical aspects are fascinating, the contemporary scenes compelling. O’Keeffe’s work floats. I was utterly spellbound.’ – MICHELLE JOHNSTON ‘Meditative and elegant, The Sitter by Angela O’Keeffe is the story of two women who find themselves in the study of each other. Their stories, their connections, are beautifully layered in this touching novel.’ – MIRANDI RIWOE ‘So assured in its experimentation.’ CHARLOTTE WOOD"

Angela O'keeffe (Author), Jenny Seedsman (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Und dahinter das Meer (Autorisierte Lesefassung)

"London 1940: Um ihre elfjährige Tochter vor Luftangriffen zu schützen, beschließen die Thompsons schweren Herzens, Beatrix für ungewisse Zeit zu einer Gastfamilie in die USA zu schicken. Nach der langen Schiffspassage trifft Bea wütend und verängstigt in Boston ein, aber schon bald fühlt sie sich bei den Gregorys zu Hause, während ihre Erinnerungen an das Leben in England langsam verblassen. Mit ihren Gasteltern und deren Söhnen William und Gerald teilt Bea nicht nur ihren neuen Alltag, sondern verbringt auch unvergessliche Sommer im Ferienhaus der Familie in Maine. Doch ausgerechnet als Bea sich zu fragen beginnt, ob William mehr für sie sein könnte als ein Bruder, kommt der Tag, an dem sie nach London zurückkehren muss ..."

Laura Spence-Ash (Author), Sandrine Mittelstädt (Narrator)

Audiobook

Literary Fiction Audiobooks in Literature