THE STORYTELLER

Jodi Picoult has a genius for zeroing in on incendiary legal and moral issues and turning them into stories of pain and compassion. Here she delves into the Holocaust and the present-day life of a former SS guard who is hiding in New Hampshire. When young Sage Singer, the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, befriends Josef Weber, a beloved retired teacher, she is horrified when he asks her to kill him—and even more outrageous—to forgive him for the heinous acts he committed decades earlier. The ensemble cast members meld their illustrious talents to enable the listener to envision, as in a powerful film, the experiences—individual and communal—of their characters. Some of the performers either speak with heavy German accents or voice the German language flawlessly, lending the story chilling verisimilitude. A.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2013]