US

Richard Mason is a find, if this intricately made and gripping novel is a fair test. The "Us" of the title are four Oxford students: upper-crust Julian; his sister, Maggie; Adrienne Finch (in England to escape her appalling American mama), who falls straight into bed with the grateful Julian; and outsider Jake Hitchings, whom Maggie falls for in spite of or because of his being "not our class, dear." We know from the first that fearless, wonderful Maggie is dead and that her survivors are shattered. What happened to her and why is told in overlapping flashback segments by the astonishing Humphrey Bower, Nicholas Bell, and Nancy Black, all flawless except that Black's Aussie vowels creep into Adrienne's American accent. Small quibble in a stunning performance and powerful book. B.G. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 06]