A PERFECT EXPLANATION

Emma Gregory gives a subtle yet masterful performance of this decade-spanning story of intergenerational conflict and miscommunication. After her brother's death in WWI, Enid Campbell succumbs to her aristocratic family's pressure to produce heirs. Her unhappiness as a mother makes Enid the eye of the storm as relationships between parents, children, and siblings break down catastrophically. Gregory's portrayal of Enid throughout her life strikes the perfect balance between infuriating arrogance and raw vulnerability. It feels almost inevitable to both hate and pity Enid. Those mixed emotions come through most clearly when the narrative voice belongs to Joan, Enid's unconventional and unsympathetic sister, and to Enid's brittle daughter, Finetta. The listener begins the story expecting heroes and villains--but finds only misunderstood victims of circumstance. N.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2020]