MARGARET FROM MAINE

Tavia Gilbert’s buttery voice brings a contemplative quality to this story about Margaret, who is emotionally torn between her husband, who is in a vegetative state after his tour in Afghanistan, and a man named Charlie. With tempered modulation and cadence, Gilbert reveals Margaret’s reluctant attraction to the down-to-earth Charlie, who is accompanying her from Maine to Washington, DC, for the signing of a bill for disabled veterans. Gilbert’s revelation of Charlie’s own demons is subtle, and she inhabits Margaret’s shy, monosyllabic 6-year-old, Ben, with a sweet innocence. With her combination of precise enunciation and soothing tones, Gilbert brings clarity and poignancy to this stirring romance. M.F. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2013]