The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks, read by multiple narrators (Penguin Audio, 15hrs 56mins)
Knightshade: The Lathe of Firefall is either a grandiosely ambitious title for a film or a piece of portentous fantasy-speak, but it’s lucky that we don’t have to find out. Instead, Hanks has imagined, in minute fictional detail, the genesis, production and eventual release of this troubled blockbuster. Excellent fun.
Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang, read by Helen Laser (The Borough Press, 8hrs 38mins)
This utterly diverting thriller of literary and cultural appropriation is a cautionary tale: if you witness the freak accidental death of your much more successful pal, do not be tempted to secrete their work-in-progress and pass it off as your own. An obvious life lesson, but one that Yellowface’s antihero sadly missed . . .
The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman, read by Ellie Kendrick (Bloomsbury, 13hrs 36mins)
The rooftops of Elizabethan London and its bustling, turbulent streets form the backdrop to this captivating novel by Suede bassist Osman. When down-on-their-luck teenagers Shay and Nonesuch meet and form the improvisational, radical theatre troupe of the title, they have little idea of where their energy and imagination will take them.
Broken Light by Joanne Harris, read by Imogen Stubbs (Orion, 12hrs 47mins)
In an ingenious twist on the idea of superpowers, Harris introduces us to Bernie Moon, a middle-aged woman devoted to the care of others. But when the body of a young woman is found in a nearby park, Bernie discovers that the menopause has reawakened a paranormal gift she had long suppressed.
Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny, read by multiple narrators (Fourth Estate, 7hrs 47mins)
These perfect bite-size stories for relaxed listening focus on love and romance — in its most touchingly successful form and, perhaps more amusingly, in its less than ethereal mundanity. More life lessons abound, chiefly: don’t go to work in your bridesmaid’s dress, and try not to eat your hearing aid by mistake.
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