Audiobook Review: The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

The Reading List
by Sara Nisha Adams (Compact Disc Adams)

 

I work in a library, where assemble reading lists for customers on a regular basis. So, when I stumbled across this audiobook, with the title The Reading List, how could I pass it up? It turns out to have been one of the best “by chance” check-outs from the library that I’ve made in quite a while.

 

At its core, this is the story of two specific individuals, living in the Wembley district of West London. But it’s also the story of the network of friends and relatives both of them have, and the relationships they have with each other. Mukesh Patel is a widower, who’s basically disconnected himself from much of life following the death of his beloved wife, Naina. The other central character is Aleisha, a teenager preparing to go to college, who is working a summer temp job at the local library branch, while helping her 20-something brother help care for their mentally ill mother, who lives with them in their modest flat.

 

AND…this is the story of a mysterious reading list, that keeps popping up in unexpected places, and having an impact on those who find it. Handwritten, it states: 

 

“Just in case you need it: To Kill a Mockingbird, Rebecca, The Kite Runner, Life of Pi, Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, Beloved, A Suitable Boy.”

 

Mukesh, never a reader before, finds an old long-overdue library book of his wife’s under their bed — “The Time Traveler’s Wife”, and forces himself to read it, to connect to his lost spouse (who was an avid reader). Wanting to use books as a way to connect to his book-loving granddaughter, Mukesh visits the Harrow Road Library, to return the book and find something else to read. There he crosses paths with Aleisha, not much a reader herself. But when Mukesh asks for recommendations, and Aleisha comes across one of the mysterious reading lists, so decides to read the eight titles on the list and subsequently recommend them to Mukesh…creating opportunities for them to talk and make a personal connection.

 

The Reading List was an absolute treasure. The three audiobook narrators, Tara Divina, Sagar Arya and Paul Panting, bring a large cast of characters fully to life. I found myself completely invested in these characters’ lives, and was quite verklempt at some of the highly emotional moments Aleisha and Mukesh both experience. Highly recommended — truly one of the most engaging novels I’ve read in the past few years!

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Beloved by Toni Morrison or A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth.)

 

( publisher’s official The Reading List web page ) | ( official Sarah Nisha Adams Twitter feed )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Services

 

The Reading List is one of this year’s Top Ten finalists for One Book – One Lincoln, although it didn’t make the Top Three that the public can vote on. If you’d like to see a list of the others that made the Top Ten, click here!

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

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