THE BIOGRAPHER

Twenty-five years have passed since Greer Gordon and Czech painter Mischa Svoboda began their passionate love affair. Now, settled on a glorious hillside in Tuscany, Mischa is world famous. Anthony Corbino, an American art critic in the final stages of his research, enters their idyllic lives to complete Mischa's biography. In a tantalizing battle of wits, Greer and Anthony play a cat-and-mouse game of manipulation, but who is manipulating whom, and to what purpose? Narrator Julie Nihill creates vivid, credible portraits of Virginia Duigan's intriguing characters. Through present-time encounters and Greer's diary flashbacks, Nihill excels at subtlety as hints are dropped and long-buried secrets are revealed. What are Anthony's true motives? What is Greer hiding? Nihill's adept reading keeps listeners guessing until the final chapters. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2009]