O BEAUTIFUL

Catherine Ho narrates this brutally honest work of literary fiction set during the North Dakota oil boom amid the Great Recession of 2008. The first-person protagonist, Elinor, who returns home while in the midst of trying to reinvent herself, is unreliable. Yet Ho compels listeners to hang on her every word as though it were gospel. While Elinor is unlikable and vain, Ho breathes life into her in a way that makes listeners forgive each shortsighted or closed-minded thought or comment that pops into Elinor's head. While this is not an audiobook for those who want a lighthearted romp about returning home, those who have complicated feelings about their own hometowns will relate to it. A.R.F. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2021]