LEEWAY COTTAGE

Beth Gutcheon has an elegiac style that envelopes readers entirely in the fictional worlds she creates. In LEEWAY COTTAGE, she takes us back to WWII--to the isolated world of America’s moneyed Eastern establishment and to the front lines of the Danish Resistance. These two worlds collide in one complex, unhappy marriage between an American and a Dane. Susan Ericksen offers a lucid reading in a well-modulated voice that is easy to listen to. Admittedly, she has taken the stately quality of Gutcheon’s writing a bit too much to heart; one wishes she had picked up the pace a bit. Nonetheless, she has a light, sure touch with the accents, giving just enough to make the dialogue scenes real. And the clarity of her narration is gratifying. This is a satisfying listen. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 05]