LEAVING LUCY PEAR

In the waning days of the Roaring Twenties, two very different women are keeping secrets from those they love most. Rebecca Lowman's rhythmic narration emphasizes the poetic language of this story about what happens when 10-year-old Lucy Pear's Irish-Catholic mother goes to work for a rich Jewish family in Cape Ann, Massachusetts--unexpectedly setting off a chain of events that entangles the characters' lives forever. Although the audiobook is rife with family drama, personal struggles, and socioeconomic and religious conflicts, Lowman's almost unvarying cadence levels the pacing of the plot, soon becoming tedious. Furthermore, the distinctions among the characters are sometimes lost in the wake of Lowman's uneven Irish and Boston accents. This story of motherhood and difficult choices is best read in print. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2016]