CITY OF GOD

This fascinating volume is hard to follow. This is not the fault of reader John Rubinstein, whose gentle, soulful voice has graced many audiobooks. The plot, the themes and the points of view are varied and convoluted. Doctorow, at times a dazzling stylist, has done some of his most layered work in this detective story of a stolen altar cross that turns up on the roof of a liberal synagogue. Perhaps this is one of those efforts that defies translation from the printed page to audiotape. Nonetheless, when one takes the huge effort to get oriented and continually reoriented, one is richly rewarded with some wonderful writing. Y.R. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 00]