JAPANESE LOVER

Author Isabelle Allende turns her prodigious talents to the ravages of WWII in this story of Alma, a young Polish immigrant who loses her immediate family to Hitler's concentration camps. Soon after, one of her best friends disappears into the Japanese internment camps in the American West. Joanna Gleason narrates both the historical events and the modern story as Alma's caretaker tries to piece together Alma's secrets. Both story and narration are at their best during the WWII parts. Here Gleason's voice wraps the listener completely into the events with her passion for the characters. However, when the plot switches to modern times, both Allende and Gleason seem to lose interest, and the story drags. J.L.K. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2015]