THE BLUE NOTEBOOK

Meera Simhan's musical Indian-accented voice may at first seem incongruous when you begin to realize the subject of Levine's novel—the selling of a 9-year-old girl into prostitution by her father. Yet despite the unvarnished horrors that young Batuk experiences in Mumbai, Simhan's melodic voice reflects Levine's greatest ambition: to demonstrate human resilience even in the face of barbarities perpetrated against the most vulnerable souls. The beauty of Simhan's narration serves one other purpose. It contrasts chillingly with the few occasions when she suddenly deadens her delivery, suggesting the disassociation Batuk must summon to survive the atrocities she experiences. Simhan renders those moments almost unbearable. M.O. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2009]