2022: The Best and Worst Audiobook Narrations I Heard
Unsurprisingly, given the name of this website, audiobooks were my most popular way to read in 2022. All told, 70 audiobooks were attempted — 60 were audio only and 10 were hybrid read/listens — meaning I listened to 69 percent of my reads.
There were a couple notable trends observed:
More fiction writers are reading their own work and usually not well
Full casts (three or more narrators) and higher production values are growing in favor
It’s a fine line between being a narration all-star and a caricature
Without further ado, here are the 10 best and seven worst audiobook narrations I heard this year. Happy listening!
Overall Best Narration
Catherine Ho and BD Wong in Book III - Zone 8, 2093 from To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
Dates read: February 3 - February 16, 2022
Responsible for performing nearly 50 percent of this behemoth, Catherine Ho and BD Wong each gave haunting performances that reminded the reader of just how far this “paradise” had fallen since the start of the novel.
Spanning 50 years and told via letters from Charles (Wong), a virologist living in New York, and Charlie (Ho), a lab technician working in militarized Zone 8, the narrators — while never interacting with one another — brought past and present reality to life in vivid horror and detail, making this the strongest section of Yanagihara’s imperfect opus.
It’s worth noting the audiobook in general is incredible, with the narrators from Book I (Edardo Ballerini) and Book II (Feodor Chin and Kurt Kanazawa) giving solid performances as well.
WORST: Adam Lazarre-White in Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby
Dates read: January 2 - January 4, 2022
Adam Lazarre-White is stereotypical in his delivery of the characters — based on stated race and sexual orientation — which was super cringe-worthy. While the stilted dialogue didn’t give him much to work with, in some ways it seemed like he was purposely going over-the-top to appease the masses, but nuance could’ve taken him far in this queer-tinged revenge thriller.
WORST: Christopher Ragland in The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
Dates read: January 27 - February 2, 2022
While points should be given to Christopher Ragland for his commitment to giving each of the characters a distinct voice in topsy-turvy mystery, some of the portrayals were distracting. Having never been asked to voice a queer cat, I can’t tell you that what he did was wrong, but it also felt like maybe he had never met a cat before.
BEST: Hope Davis in Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
Dates read: February 28 - March 5, 2022
Hope Davis found the heart of each character in this blended family drama that spans decades and POVs — 11 in total — and provided her own unique perspective on each without detracting from Patchett’s writing. The author has a knack for securing top-notch talent to her narrations and Davis keeps that trend alive. This was a book I simply didn’t want to end.
BEST: John Lee, Dylan Moore, Kirsten Potter and Arthur Morey in Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Dates read: April 19 - April 21, 2022
This phenomenal full-cast narration was reminiscent of a radio serial with each actor bringing forward their own perspective on this science fiction mystery. Emily St. John Mandel’s text didn’t need any elevation, but the performers brought forward the pacing and emotion that made this one of the most wholly satisfying pieces of entertainment I consumed all year. Potter was the standout — here and in Simone St. James’ “The Book of Cold Cases” — rooting Olive Llewellyn in the humanity needed to truly care about the story.
BEST: Anna Fields in Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Dates read: April 29 - May 1, 2022
While the novel itself fell short, the audiobook did not. Anna Fields did impressive work navigating various accents — Spanish, Japanese, American, French, German and Russian — sometimes within the same paragraph. For a single person narrating a large cast, each character felt distinct, and she tapped into the heart of the person. Ann Patchett’s novels have had Hollywood stars read her words (see above), but Fields even outshined Tom Hanks.
BEST: Jolene Kim, Kaleo Griffith, G.K. Bowes and Tui Asau in Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
Dates read: May 2 - May 5, 2022
Another example of the audiobook exceeding the source material, the full cast in this family drama delivered a performance for the ages. Each brought a conversational approach to their respective characterization, which helped elevate Kawai Strong Washburn’s understated humor and amplified the Hawaiian roots of the Flores family. Sometimes when you listen to multiple narrators in a family story it feels like each performer is trying to be the star. Here, they all complemented one another with no one person stealing the spotlight. They truly felt like a bonded family.
WORST: Jason Sean in Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So
Dates read: May 17 - May 20, 2022
If I had to pick my least favorite narration of the year, it would be this one. Rarely does an audiobook ruin a story, but that’s what happened with the narration by Jason Sean. I appreciate that the publishers chose authenticity and cast Cambodian American talent, but it felt like Sean read each story cold. To say the narration was distracting would be a terrible understatement. It was stilted, choppy and generally devoid of emotion. Every character was presented the same way, and the only difference was how fast or slow he would read. The most consistent element was his frequent pauses mid-sentence that weren’t for effect, rather it seemed like he lost his place in the text. The whole performance felt like a rough cut.
BEST: Molly Shannon in her memoir Hello, Molly!
Dates read: May 23 - May 27, 2022
Like Dolly Parton’s delightful “Songteller,” the audiobook felt like Molly Shannon telling her stories/being interviewed by co-author Sean Wilsey, which made listening feel more intimate and like being at a dinner party. This would be a great read/listen for those wanting something lighter and positive in these trying times. If you’re not a fan of Shannon before going in, you certainly will be by the time you finish.
WORST: Cassandra Campbell, Christa Lewis, Suzanne Elise Freeman, Prentice Onayemi, Thom Rivera, Kyla Garcia and Will Damron in Christodora by Tim Murphy
Dates read: July 20 - August 3, 2022
Upon finishing Tim Murphy’s meandering epic, I was surprised to learn it was narrated by a full cast, because it didn’t seem like there was much differentiation between the characters, outside of Ava and Hector, which had some overexaggerated accents. Initially the narration felt engaging, but it became less so as the plot devolved into a mess of unlikable characters doing terrible things to one another. Too many performances — especially Cassandra Campbell’s — started to veer into campy territory.
BEST: Jennifer Kim and Julian Chin in Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Dates read: August 3 - August 9, 2022
This isn’t an audiobook for casual listeners. It requires a fair bit of concentration because of the timeline shifts and little details Gabrielle Zevin parcels throughout the text. If you prefer this format, you’re in for a treat with the narration, which also included one of the most surprising production decisions I’ve ever heard. Almost the entire novel is narrated by Jennifer Kim, who does fantastic work embodying the characters, but in Part VII Julian Chin takes over for Marx, giving a poignant and heartfelt performance — a soliloquy reminiscent of the novels’ namesake — that gives this ancillary character top-billing. I was lulled into the status quo with Kim, so the narrator shift for this just section helped underline its importance to the story, and the beauty of its words.
BEST: Michael Urie in Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Dates read: August 20 - August 23, 2022
“Remarkably Bright Creatures” is a high concept family drama that’s a tad predictable and a bit too convenient, but it’s also incredibly charming thanks to Michael Urie’s performance as Marcellus, an observant and sarcastic giant Pacific octopus. He brought an aristocratic flair that was perfectly fitting for a creature that viewed itself as the smartest one in the room. Many readers will know Urie for his roles on “Ugly Betty” and “Younger,” and his trademark rapid-fire sneering paired with sincere empathy was used to great effect here. It was a delight having him bring Marcellus’ journey to life, and I’d eagerly listen to another of his narrations again soon.
BEST: Jelani Alladin in My Government Means To Kill Me by Rasheed Newson
Dates read: August 27 - August 30, 2022
You could tell that Jelani Alladin had a lot of fun bringing this historical fiction story to life. Infusing personality into each character — both factual and fictional — from New York City in the 1980s, Aladdin made each person feel unique, including main character Trey, his roommate and best friend, Gregory, and real-life people, such as Bayard Rustin, Fred Trump and Larry Kramer. He also navigated some blush-inducing scenes in the bathhouse with seductive flair that at times made this a little steamy.
BEST: Stacy Gonzalez in Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Dates read: September 5 - September 8, 2022
Taylor Jenkins Reid audiobooks are always a treat. They attract cream-of-the-crop talent and have high production values, with well-placed sound effects and full casts. While this was a fine audiobook it was also overstuffed — there were 12 total narrators — which overshadowed the strongest element: Stacy Gonzalez. Gonzalez does yeoman’s work as Carrie, Javier, Nikki, Gwen and Bowe. Gonzalez found Soto’s humanity and helped you see the person through the machine. She also did fantastic work giving the other characters distinct personalities, which helped to alleviate the shortcomings they were given by the author. The Carrie/Nikki conversations were especially fun.
WORST: Cassandra Campbell in The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying by Nina Riggs
Dates read: September 11 - September 13, 2022
The memoir itself felt a bit scattershot, and the narration did not help the matter. Cassandra Campbell delivered a pretentious and detached performance, which didn’t match the emotional and philosophical aspects of Nina Riggs’ story. I began to loath Riggs, simply because I hated Campbell’s performance. Had I read this, I don’t think my assessment of her would’ve been the same. Campbell may be the first all-star narrator I actively seek to avoid.
WORST: Arthur Morey and William Roberts in The People In The Trees by Hanya Yanagihara
Dates read: September 18 - September 26, 2022
The inclusion of Hanya Yanagihara’s debut novel is the epitome of dichotomies, since both Yanagihara and narrator Arthur Morey find themselves among the best and worst highlights on this list. Part of the disdain for this narration is that I hated the novel, but Morey and William Roberts have almost identical deliveries making it difficult to tell the two apart. Additionally, it is interesting that the footnotes were read, however this became distracting as they grew in length and frequency. There wasn’t much propulsion with the plot but cutting in to read a footnote certainly killed momentum.
WORST: Authors reading their own books
There are exceptions to every rule — some are even noted on this list — but many of the worst narrations I heard this year were by authors that had no business reading their books. The worst offenders were Neel Patel (“If You See Me Don’t Say Hi”), Grace Perry (“The 2000s Made Me Gay”), Conner Habib (“Hawk Mountain”), Lauren Groff (“Florida”) and Louise Erdrich (“The Sentence”).
I know it’s a popular practice for writers to read their nonfiction, but I think it’s better to leave all narrations to the professionals. After so many lackluster audiobook performances, I’m inclined to automatically pass on any work of fiction narrated by the author (unless you are Sarah Winman or Daniel Black).
