ATONEMENT

Thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis and her older sister, Cecelia, have been fortunate to grow up in a prosperous English manor home. On a hot summer day in 1935, a single event moves Briony to take steps that will alter the entire household's lives forever. British actress Josephine Bailey is an elegant and exacting performer who never trips over long passages of resplendent adjectives and meandering descriptions. As the story moves the characters forward to Dunkirk in 1941 and then to a final reunion in the late 1990s, Bailey provides a graceful, provocative, and stimulating performance. B.J.P. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB / MAR 03]