A MAP OF GLASS

There is an ethereal, dreamy quality in Hillary Huber’s reading that is well suited to Urquhart’s meditative novel about love, loss, and longing. The novel begins on remote Timber Island in Lake Ontario where a young artist named Jerome discovers the frozen body of Andrew Goodman, a geographer lately suffering from Alzheimer’s. The story resumes a year later with the appearance of a strange woman named Sylvia, who claims to have been Andrew’s longtime lover. Sylvia begins meeting with Jerome, relaying her past with Andrew as well as the story of Andrew’s forebears on Timber Island. The book sometimes has the feel of epic poetry, an impression furthered by Huber’s lyrical voicing. M.O. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 06/ JAN 07]