Contributor Alan Minskoff joins host Jo Reed to talk about three notable books—from George Saunders, Xochitl Gonzalez, and Lauren Groff—that offer rich and rewarding listening. They begin with George Saunders’s Vigil, an inventive, full-cast production featuring Judy Greer, Stephen Root, and McLeod Andrews, where a youthful ghost serves as a death doula to an unrepentant oil tycoon. The conversation then turns to Xochitl Gonzalez’s Last Night in Brooklyn, narrated compellingly by Elizabeth Rodriguez, a sharp, observant look at friendship, ambition, and gentrification in mid-2000s Brooklyn. They conclude with Lauren Groff’s Brawler, a collection of emotionally resonant stories read with empathy and thoughtful restraint by the author herself. Together, these audiobooks show how skillful narration—from full casts to author performances—can deepen the emotional and imaginative reach of contemporary fiction.

Audiobooks Discussed:

Vigil by George Saunders, read by Judy Greer, Stephen Root, MacLeod Andrews, Kimberly Farr, Mark Bramhall, Barrett Leddy, Eric Jason Martin, Karissa Vacker, Sunil Malhotra, Cassandra Campbell, Kimberly M. Wetherell, Aaron Goodson, Maggi-Meg Reed, George Saunders, and a Full Cast (Random House Audio)

LastNight in Brooklyn by Xochitl Gonzalez, read by Elizabeth Rodriguez (Macmillan Audio)

Brawler by Lauren Groff, read by the author (Penguin Audio)

Support for Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollinsFocus and HarperCollins ChristianPublishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Colleen Coble, Mark Harmon, Jennie Allen, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and many more.

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Writers at the Top of Their Game