THE COLOR OF A DOG RUNNING AWAY

When a text and a narrator have incongruous styles, the result is usually disastrous. In this case, however, the mismatch improves the product. The novel features an unlikable main character who is abducted, along with his enigmatic girlfriend, by people who believe they are reincarnations of the Cathars, a sect that was ruthlessly put down during the Crusades. For better or worse, the novel is a blend of Dan Brown's implausible characters and Umberto Eco's pedantry. The audio could have been intolerable. Instead, it's made entirely listenable by the magnificent reading of Robertson Dean. He manages to give a third dimension to the characters and add poetry to their flat dialogue. D.B. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 07]