BODILY HARM

This recording delves deep into the Atwood archives, going back to one of the Canadian author's earliest novels, published in 1981. It follows Rennie, a journalist who spends three weeks on a Caribbean island, where she's retreating from a breakup and a brush with cancer. Rather than paradise, however, Rennie finds herself in the middle of an attempted coup. Bonnie Hurren's pacing is good, and she's a solid fit for Rennie's character, but the voice she ascribes to the other main female character is whiny and unsympathetic, which does a disservice to the novel. She also, unwisely, tries to handle Caribbean accents. D.B. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 05]