THE VILLAGE BEYOND THE MIST

Narrator Sarah Skaer takes listeners on a magical summer sojourn in this new English translation of Kashiwaba's 1975 fantasy. Sent alone to Misty Valley instead of Nagano, where her grandparents live, Lina is taken aback to learn she's expected to work for her keep. Skaer's pleasant lilt conveys the narrative as Lina works in various establishments along what the residents call Absurd Avenue, encountering a friendly imp, an officious parrot, and a vendor of enchanted ceramics. Skaer leans into the whimsy of Lina's adventures with humorously affected voices for most characters, reserving a childlike, no-nonsense tone for Lina, who soon takes the unexpected in stride. There is an occasionally grating nasality to some of her characterizations, but the openhearted fun of the story carries listeners along. V.S. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2025]