This post was originally published on Audible.com.
First, we have to thank the Academy. What a stellar awards season it’s been for audio fans. So many Best Picture nominees are based on big audio bestsellers, and just as many Best and Supporting Actors have worked as narrators. But these are our nominees for the best audiobooks to enjoy long after the envelope’s been torn open, and the red carpet’s been rolled up.
The collected works of Jessie Buckley
One of the most celebrated actresses of the year is an equally brilliant narrator. For Hamnet, you can compare Buckley’s version with the original interpretation from narrator Daisy Donovan; both beautifully underscore the exquisite tone of Maggie O’Farrell’s glorious prose. Hear more of Buckley’s Irish lilt in Long Island, the sequel to Colm Tóibín's Brooklyn. And for a delicious riff set in Austenland, Buckley smartens up a clueless Lydia Bennet in Mrs. Wickham.
Leo + Pynchon
Oscar nominees Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio based One Battle After Another on Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel, Vineland, which is set in the Reagan era but feels contemporary as it focuses on 1960s radicalism as well as government overreach.
The Hawke ouevre
Among the audio offerings from Blue Moon-nominated actor Ethan Hawke are his newest novel, A Bright Ray of Darkness, his acclaimed narration of Dave Eggers's Newbery winner The Eyes and the Impossible, and Fishpriest, a podcast procedural that is only available on Audible.
Hugh-adjacent
Though global favorite and top Audible Theater performer Hugh Jackman did not get nominated for Song Sung Blue, he did bestow luck on costar Kate Hudson. The earthiness that Hudson revealed in the role is actually on display in Pretty Happy, which feels down-to-earth and true.
Speaking of Aussies
Between costarring with Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights and being nominated for playing the Creature in Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi is having quite the year. While we eagerly await his audio debut, compare his compelling vocal work in the movie to Edoardo Ballerini’s take on the Mary Shelley must-listen. Also check out this Audible Original’s alternative take on Heathcliff with Daryl McCormack in the title role.
The Yellowstone effect
The demand for stories set in the American West no doubt led to the rediscovery of Train Dreams, a bleak narrative about day laborers in the early 20th century. This collection of author Denis Johnson’s works, performed by actor Will Patton, cuts deep into the soul. Also noteworthy: Nick Cave, the Australian singer, was nominated for Best Original Song for his work in Train Dreams, but you can discover his skills as a storyteller in his own novel, The Death of Bunny Monroe.
Train Dreams Oscars
A New York Times Notable Book for 2011
One of The Economist's 2011 Books of the Year
One of NPR's 10 Best Novels of 2011
From the National Book Award-winning author Denis Johnson (Tree of Smoke) comes Train Dreams, an epic in miniature, and one of Johnson's most evocative works of fiction.
Suffused with the history and landscapes of the American West—its otherworldly flora and fauna, its rugged loggers and bridge builders—this extraordinary novella poignantly captures the disappearance of a distinctly American way of life.
It tells the story of Robert Grainer, a day laborer in the American West at the start of the twentieth century—an ordinary man in extraordinary times. Buffeted by the loss of his family, Grainer struggles to make sense of this strange new world. As his story unfolds, we witness both his shocking personal defeats and the radical changes that transform America in his lifetime.
Here are two complete audiobooks by Denis Johnson, narrated by Will Patton. Listen to both Train Dreams, and Jesus’ Son, as well as an excerpt from Denis Johnson’s National Book Award-winning Tree of Smoke.
In Train Dreams Robert Grainer is a day laborer in the American West at the start of the 20th century—an ordinary man in extraordinary times. Buffeted by the loss of his family, Grainer struggles to make sense of this strange new world. As his story unfolds, we witness both his shocking personal defeats and the radical changes that transform America in his lifetime. Suffused with the history and landscapes of the American West—its otherworldly flora and fauna, its rugged loggers and bridge builders—this new novella by the National Book Award-winning author of Tree of Smoke captures the disappearance of a distinctly American way of life.
Jesus's Son, also adapted for the screen, is a now-classic collection of 10 stories from the author of Resuscitation of a Hanged Man and Angels. The stories are narrated by a young man, a recovering alcoholic and heroin addict, whose dependencies have led him to petty crime, cruelty, betrayal, and various kinds of loss.
Bunny Munro sells beauty products and the dream of hope to lonely housewives along the south coast of England. Set adrift by his wife's sudden death and struggling to keep a grip on reality, he does the only thing he can think of—with his young son in tow, he hits the road.
While Bunny plies his trade and sexual charisma door-to-door, nine-year-old Bunny Junior sits patiently in the car, exploring the world through the pages of his encyclopaedia. As their bizarre and increasingly frenzied road trip shears into a final reckoning, Bunny finds that the ghosts of his world—decrepit fathers, vengeful lovers, jealous husbands, and horned psycho-killers— have emerged from the shadows and are seeking to exact their toll.
A tender portrait of the relationship between father and son, The Death of Bunny Munro is a stylish, angry and hugely enjoyable listen, bursting with the wit and mystery that fans will recognise as hallmarks of Cave's singular vision.
