AWARDS & PRESS

I Am An Executioner, by Rajesh Parameswaran

"Shah…will have listeners holding their breath…eager for the climax of each story." - AudioFile Magazine (full review here)

"Neil Shah wonderfully enhance the stories in I am an Executioner...[and] is a narrator of wonderful skills. His voice inhabits each character’s accent, quirks, and their compassion. He reads with deftness, lending the characters appropriate poignancy and humor, making each of them real. He is a facile and entertaining narrator who grabs the reader at the onset. His reading of “The Infamous Bengal Ming,” one of the great stories in the collection, in which an amorous tiger kills his beloved trainer with a playful lover bite to the neck, Shah inhabits the very nature of the beast. He narrates with roars and purrs, presenting both the human and animal side of the tiger. It is a convincing and apt interpretation. His interpretation of the title story, I Am An Executioner, is moderated by the protagonist’s malapropism, naïveté and deadpan delivery. The story is very funny, but more so in listening to Shah than reading of it. Shah makes this audiobook fun, exciting and funny." - SoundCommentary.com

Haroun and the Sea of Stories, by Salman Rushdie

Narrator Neil Shah delights in Salman Rushdie's phantasmagorical story, full of allegory and wonder…Shah's passionate delivery and singing create a melodramatic yet humorous performance that will delight listeners of all ages. This whimsical fantasy is not to be missed. -AudioFile Magazine (full review here)

The Test, by Sylvain Neuvel

Thoughtful, timely, and an absolutely mesmerizing listening experience. - AudioFile Magazine (full review here)

Each exacting characterization would be an impressive feat; melded together, they form one of the best aural performances of the year. - Booklist (full review here)

A Burning, by Megha Majumdar

Six narrators of Indian descent bring authenticity to this tragic debut fiction about a young Indian woman unjustly charged with terrorism over a Facebook comment. When Muslim Jivan criticizes the Indian government for mishandling a bombing incident, she doesn't think much about the possible consequences. However, her seemingly innocent comment lands her behind bars. With their accurate Indian accents and adept pacing, the narrators bring listeners into the slums of India. Their multifaceted voices harmoniously blend to bring out a consistent storytelling experience. As Jivan fights to get out of jail, listeners will find themselves sympathizing with her predicament. This must-listen, if overstuffed, audiobook explores the oppression of minorities in the South Asian nation. -AudioFile Magazine (full review here)

Stringer: A Reporter's Journey In the Congo, by Anjan Sundaram

Shah is an outstanding narrator who adds a healthy dose of personality to each of the characters as well as accents where appropriate. As Sundaram becomes immersed in local life while staying with a Congolese family in Kinshasa and faces perilous situations while reporting from dangerous conflict zones, Shah adeptly brings us into his new world. - AudioFile Magazine (full review here)

At the End of the Century, by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

A large cast of talented narrators was well chosen to give voice to this excellent collection of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's subtle and multilayered short stories. The production begins with an informative introduction by writer Anita Desai. The narrators suit the stories they narrate, settling us in place, be it in a Delhi shopkeeper's orderly store or on Los Angeles's sun-drenched streets. Winner of the Booker Prize, Jhabvala, who died in 2013, was also an Oscar-winning screenwriter for many James Ivory and Ismail Merchant films, including A ROOM WITH A VIEW. These tender, fierce, clear-eyed stories touch on life's unexpected pains and joys, and on the vagaries of the human heart faced by her Indian, English, and American characters. They are to be savored. -AudoFile Magazine (full review here)

When the Moon Is Low, by Nadia Hashimi

“Shah evokes the growing desperation of Saleem, Fereiba's teenage son, who is accidentally separated from his family in Greece. In alternating sections, listeners are drawn into this ever changing story of family, danger, and loss by the performances of this talented pair. Mathan and Shah keep us on the edge of our seats to see if, against all odds, the family will be reunited.”

-AudoFile Magazine (full review here)

The Hundred-Foot Journey, by Richard C. Morais

"Shah delivers delightful Indian accents for the Haji family and the parts of the novel set in India. When the setting shifts to France, Shah provides seamless French accents for the Alpine villagers, especially for celebrated chef whose restaurant is across the street from the Haji family’s Indian restaurant."

- AudioFile Magazine (full review here)

“Classically trained actor Neil Shah’s masterful, fully-voiced interpretation of Richard C. Morais’s colorful coming-of-age tale of Indian chef Hassan Haji from Mumbai, to England, to a small village in France, and finally to Paris makes the Hundred Foot Journey truly magical...Hassan’s journey is full of the fragrances, colors, and especially the foods so beautifully described by Morais, and exceptionally well read by Shah. [He] captures the astringent, bitter voice of Mme Mallory, the prissy French of the many gourmands and chefs Hassan meets along the way, Hassan’s growth (he narrates) from appealing youth to accomplished chef, the many voices of the Haji family, and especially the booming, loving voice of Hassan’s Papa as he supports and encourages his son all along the journey. The Hundred Foot Journey is for listeners who love to cook, love to eat, love to be exquisitely catered to, love to travel, and especially anyone who loves the crisp snap of a starched white linen tablecloth just before it is placed on a favorite restaurant table or the sizzling stove fragrances of the truly outstanding chef. Outstanding combination of narrator with text. Indeed a magical journey.” - Soundcommentary.com