THE BAY OF ANGELS

Zoe Cunningham is a young woman faced with unfamiliar challenges. Her mother ventures off to a new life as a newlywed, and Zoe enjoys her own financial and social benefits as a result. When unexpected tragedy befalls her mother and stepfather, Zoe has to grow up quickly. Eleanor Bron gives an accurate reading of this novel--she remains quiet, polite, and calm. The novel itself, while well wrought, is somewhat overwrought. Every detail, no matter how repetitive or self-serving for the narrator, is offered. Though sad and true, the story itself stays dreary, stagnant, and colorless. Bron's performance makes the best of a novel that could have been a moving short story. L.B.F. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 02]