THE INNOCENTS

Inspired by Edith Wharton’s THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, Segal’s debut novel, set in London, tells of a close-knit upper-middle-class Jewish community known as Temple Fortune. Adam Newman and Rachel Gilbert have dated since they were 16, and now, at 28, they’re finally officially engaged and planning their wedding. Rosalyn Landor’s British accent has just the right amount of pretension in it to fit the aspirations of a community that doesn’t quite fit into the upper-crust society its members aspire to. Her wry delivery illuminates a tedious, predictable life at the same time that Adam’s pre-wedding jitters have him imagining scenarios in which he chucks responsibility and injects some passion into his life. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2012]