Susan Juby's favourite audiobooks for the holiday season
Susan Juby is a novelist and a professor of creative writing at Vancouver Island University. She's also a big fan of audiobooks. The author The Fashion Committee brings a list of new and noteworthy titles to listen to this holiday season.
IQ by Joe Ide, narrated by Sullivan Jones
Susan says: "This was one of my favourite listens of the last year. It's about an African American detective — who is something of a genius — who takes on this case of a rapper who is having a breakdown. There is a chase scene the likes of which I've never seen or heard and culminates with a grenade launcher. In spite of sounding a bit cartoonish, it remains grounded in place and character, which is remarkable for such a kicky story. It's read by the actor Sullivan Jones, who has a voice like a back massage. It makes the world better and more interesting."
The Great Halifax Explosion by John U. Bacon, narrated by Johnny Heller
Susan says: "This is a must-listen for anyone who plans to stop breathing for a little over 10 hours. It's the story of the French munitions ship, The Mont Blanc, which was loaded up 3,000 tons of explosives. The plan was for it to sail from New York to Halifax, then go on to Bordeaux to help the war effort. But as it entered the harbour in 1917, it collided with a Norwegian ship that was on the wrong side of the channel. The crew abandoned ship and it floated by itself. Nobody knew it was basically a floating bomb because it wasn't flying the red flag of munitions ship. John Bacon is a fine storyteller, who brings all of his skills as a historian to bear on the tragedy. This one is read by Johnny Heller who has a voice like an old-style hypnotist. He could be reading this to us in 1920 or 2017. Anyone who wants to know more about a remarkable story should not miss this book."
The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O'Neill, narrated by Julia Whelan
Susan says: "This is Heather O'Neill at her very best. The novel is set in Montreal and follows the lives of deeply disadvantaged but preternaturally charming orphans Rose and Pierrot. They grow up in the custody of cold and violently abusive nuns who do their best to extinguish every glimmer of hope and imagination in all of the children they care for. The story follows the children as they grow up and have the kinds of varied careers one might expect of lonely, exceptional children in tough times. O'Neill has this way of writing characters that feel fresh, but also like we've known them forever. Her writing always manages that delicate high wire between brutality and beauty. This is a star-crossed lovers story and its read by Julia Whelan who has a very clear voice and she reads children without that cloying quality that other people bring to reading children. I think The Lonely Hearts Hotel is destined to become a classic work of Canadian literature."
Susan Juby's comments have been edited and condensed.