THE ACCIDENTAL

Author Ali Smith gets full use of a quintet of readers who perform their roles impeccably. Stina Nielsen, Jeff Woodman, Simon Prebble, and Ruth Moore take on the roles as members of the Smart family, whose lives are decimated when a mysterious young woman named Amber (played by Heather O'Neill) enters their home, seemingly by accident. The book has a nonlinear structure and an ambiguous ending. It retells the same incident from the points of view of the philandering father, the clueless mother, the guilt-ridden teenaged son, and the rebellious pre-teen daughter. Stina Nielsen deserves to be singled out for her portrayal of 12-year-old Astrid. She has just the right touches of arrogance and innocence to bring the girl to life. M.S. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 06]