(Read by Amy Rubinate; Macmillan Audio; 11 CDs; 13.5 hours)
The best thing going for this tale of a mother and daughter at odds with each other is Rubinate, who is an engaging narrator. Her manner is warm and she has an array of speech patterns that give the story character and help it to resonate with feeling. However, there just isn’t much happening in the novel. There is a lot of family tension, some of which does not feel believable, and a tragedy that changes the lives of several characters. Because we are not fully engaged in their lives, and because the pace is so plodding, we can’t much care.
Grade: C
