Every year the editors at AudioFile magazine spend a lot of time putting together their best-of-the-year list of recommended audiobooks, picking out titles they regard as exceptional. Books are chosen in a variety of genres—from novels to nonfiction, and from single voice to full-cast productions. (You can listen to a podcast with Robin Whitten, founder and editor of AudioFile, explaining how they make their selections here). Here are the six titles they have declared the best audiobooks of 2024 in the fiction category:
The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez, narrated by Alma Cuervo
Cuervo’s warm, rich timbre and measured style suit this captivating audiobook. Her delivery works perfectly as she emulates the author’s empathetic tone and wit. This is a vividly imagined story of a novelist whose nom de plume is Scheherazade. She leaves Vermont and returns to her native Dominican Republic to bury her untold (unfinished) works.
(9 hours)
Come and Get It by Kiley Reid, narrated by Nicole Lewis
Millie Cousins is a senior resident assistant at the University of Arkansas. When a visiting professor and journalist offers her money in exchange for the opportunity to eavesdrop on the dorm’s residents, Millie decides to take the risk and accept. Lewis’s performance makes the vivid dialogue sing. She creates unique voices for all of the major characters, complete with the perfect accents and delivery of expressions.
(13 hours)
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty, narrated by Caroline Lee & Geraldine Hakewill
Narrators Lee and Hakewill weave the threads of this tense exploration of free will. Lee voices a nondescript woman on a delayed flight across Australia who suddenly stands and begins pointing to fellow passengers and stating how they will die and when. Hakewill’s narration creates the sense that the other travelers are united in fear and hope.
(16 hours)
The Limits by Nell Freudenberger, narrated by Rebecca Lowman
Set in New York City and French Polynesia in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, this mesmerizing audiobook is flawlessly narrated by Rebecca Lowman. Lowman’s flexible, emotive delivery and steady pace settle listeners into this contemplative story exploring medicine, environmental devastation, colonialism, family dynamics, and the impact of privilege during the pandemic.
(11 hours, 50 minutes)
James by Percival Everett, narrated by Dominic Hoffman
Dominic Hoffman narrates this reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but this time Jim tells his own story. Hoffman’s performance captures the varying tone of Jim’s dialogue, highlighting the shifts in his vocabulary and rhythm. With its subtlety and attention to detail, Hoffman’s narration reinforces Jim’s character and narrative arcs as Jim takes back his agency in life.
(7 hours, 50 minutes)
The Women by Kristin Hannah, narrated by Julia Whelan
The sure touch of ‘Golden Voice’ narrator Julia Whelan transforms Kristin Hannah’s absorbing novel about Vietnam War combat nurses into an addictive listen. As the novel interweaves historical research with the characters’ Vietnam and postwar lives, Whelan’s intensity and warmth help listeners empathize with the personal and understand the big picture.
(15 hours)
Throughout December, AudioFile editors will be focusing on the best books in different categories in their ‘Behind the Mic’ podcast, starting with fiction on December 5th.
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