SANCTUARY

With its wonderful storytelling, beautifully narrated by John Derum, this unusual novel illustrates the difficulties of the immigrant experience as seen through the eyes of nine asylum seekers. After a storm destroys their boat, the survivors drift on the ocean in a dilapidated skiff. They have no idea where they are, and Derum's performance manifests their fear. Just when they're almost out of hope, they run aground on a deserted island. As the strangers cling together, Derum makes each character completely believable. They are eventually discovered and assisted by a friendly fisherman who warns them that they are only miles from a fishing village in Western Australia where anti-immigration attitudes are the rule and bigotry and racism are the norm. Derum makes this a riveting listen. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2019 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2019]