MY SISTER, MY LOVE

With its echoes of the JonBenet Ramsay case, Oates’s new novel delves into the intimate lives of those affected by the murder of tot figure-skating champion Bliss Rampike. Boldly satirical, this cautionary tale exposes Mummy and Daddy's misguided ambitions and acts as an elegy for the murdered Bliss and her brother Skyler's lost childhood. Through Mike Chamberlain's expert narration, one can hear Skyler's bewilderment at his parents' flaws and transparently selfish motives. Chamberlain aptly delivers Mummy's plaintive pitch, Daddy's booming machismo, and Bliss's strain. Chamberlain’s subtle vocalization conveys an urgency on behalf of the children as it portrays the sinister competition at the heart of contemporary American suburbia. As the story is told in the voice of 19-year old Skyler, one hears the leaden grief, guilt, and bitterness that have resulted from the unsolved tragedy ten years earlier. A.W. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2008]