Audio

Those who wish to keep up with Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club will be pleased to know that most of her suggestions are available on audio. Readers may notice a similar theme running through many of her selections. The protagonist usually has to overcome some form of oppression, be it poverty, racism or abuse.

Thankfully, the lady has good taste in her inspirational fiction. “A Lesson Before Dying,” by Ernest J. Gaines, is a magnificent novel about a big event in a small Louisiana parish in the late 1940s (Random House Audiobooks, unabridged fiction, six cassettes, eight hours, $32.95, read by Jay Long).

Jefferson, a young black man unwittingly involved in a liquor store holdup and fatal shootout, finds himself on death row. The prisoner’s family urges the local teacher, a progressive and angry young man toiling in the plantation school, to visit Jefferson and help him prepare for his death.

Long, with his resonant, rather deep voice and friendly manner, is very easy to spend time with. As with any good storyteller, his manner is relaxed and welcoming--you feel as if he is telling this tale to you alone. Most wonderful are his various personas, including lazy schoolboys and angry elderly aunties.

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North Carolina native and award-winning author Kaye Gibbons has twice made Oprah’s list. Last year her novel “Ellen Foster” (Simon & Schuster Audio, abridged fiction, two cassettes, three hours, $18, read by the author) was a book of choice. A sad, bleakly humorous story of a Southern preteen who marches through adversity with a stubborn and prickly sense of self, it is still available on audio and very much worth hearing.

More recently, “A Virtuous Woman,” the gritty romance between 40-year-old Blinking Jack Stokes and 20-year-old Ruby Pitt Woodrow, was an Oprah choice (Simon & Schuster Audio, abridged fiction, two cassettes, three hours, $18, read by the author and Terry Beaver).

Gibbons is a blunt writer who deftly lays bare the human condition with deadpan humor and a fine ear for dialogue. It is the latter that ensures her work such success on audio, and Gibbons is one author who can deliver the goods. With an accent cultivated south of the Mason-Dixon Line and a pretty, rather high voice, she can ably dispatch a joke or a harsh reality while reading the part of the young wife. Her only drawback is a tendency to fall into a singsong pattern, but this is a small distraction. Beaver, with his raspy voice and unhurried delivery, has a sweet Southern style dripping with personality.

As these novels work best when heard aloud, it is surprising that Simon & Schuster released them as abridged audios. “Ellen Foster” is a very slim volume at 126 pages, “A Virtuous Woman” a mere 165 pages. The abridged “Ellen Foster” flows smoothly enough, even if some of Gibbons’ detail and elucidation has been excised. The same is not quite true of “A Virtuous Woman,” which falters in a few areas due to abrupt transitions.

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Another novel set in the Deep South that made Oprah’s list is the electrifying tale of a girl raised in a fervent and most unusual religious community, one that most of us would label a cult. “The Rapture of Canaan,” by Sheri Reynolds, opens up a world few can accurately envision (Recorded Books, unabridged nonfiction, six cassettes, nine hours and 15 minutes, $13.50 if rented, $49 if purchased, read by Alyssa Bresnahan). For information, call (800) 638-1304.

Bresnahan has a clear voice and perfect diction. While reading the part of 15-year-old protagonist Ninah Huff, she cloaks her speech in a soft Southern accent that well befits the girl’s folksy dialogue. Unfortunately, not all the characters are given such professional treatment. Bresnahan is uneven, as she provides a rural twang to some but barely any to others.

The story, however, is so involving you may find yourself circling the block to finish a chapter. It twists down emotional paths you won’t see coming as Ninah, brighter and more compassionate than your average teen, learns that freedom can be won through understanding.

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Rochelle L’Gorman Flynn reviews audio books every other week. Next week: Margo Kaufman on mysteries.