OUR MAN IN HAVANA

The many characters in this satirical spy novel burst with personality, idiosyncrasies, odd mannerisms, and quirky conversation. A theater director would be lucky to find multiple actors who could do justice to Greene's writing. Jeremy Northam, though, gives each character a distinct voice and presence all by himself. He makes notes of the details Greene uses to cast a character and takes off from there. His London intelligence chief, for example, is raspy and chilling, as if speaking from the grave. The agent Hawthorne sounds clipped and hurried, a touch anxious. The assistant, Beatrice, is observant and unflappable. Northam expresses them all as if accessing the same secret core that Greene imagined at the heart of all his characters. The book has a wonderful musical soundtrack, too. R.L.G. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2009]