WINTER Seasonal Quartet, Book 2

Like its predecessor, AUTUMN, WINTER focuses on connected characters in a post-Brexit world. It's almost Christmas, and Art Cleves has hired the enigmatic Lux to play his girlfriend on an overdue trip to see his mother, Sophia. When they arrive, Sophia's condition causes them to send for his mother's estranged sister, Iris. The foursome's interchanges and recollections are at once absurd and profound, and--thanks to narrator Melody Grove--as slowly but surely illuminating as the sun after the winter solstice. Because Ali Smith is the author, a phrase as simple as "what is today?" has multiple meanings, each one worth appreciating. Grove's challenge is to convey every nuance from the page to the ear. She does so admirably. K.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2018]