THE EMPEROR'S CHILDREN

One of the criticisms sometimes heard of audiobooks is that they filter a piece of writing through a third party--the narrator--thereby influencing the reader's own pure reaction to the book. That complaint comes to mind here, despite what is clearly an expert, fiercely intelligent narration by Suzanne Toren. From the beginning, she captures the pomposity and hypocrisy of the central character, Murray Thwaite, a liberal intellectual journalist in New York in the period before and after 9/11. But, whereas Messud's brilliant novel about the privileged, unfulfilled young of Manhattan reveals Thwaite's essential negative qualities OVER TIME, Toren's dead-on characterization nails his essence from his very first appearance--depriving the reader's own sense of discovery. This performance is a useful reminder that narrators are more than that. They are guides. M.O. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 07]