THE HEATHER BLAZING

Colm Toibin's second novel has myriad echoes--those relating to Irish history and those within the life of protagonist Eamon Redmond. In keeping with Redmond's emotional distance, narrator Tim Reynolds underplays the quiet drama and mostly relies on the text to tell us who is speaking. His vocal characterizations are subtle but sufficient. The most evocative writing is about the landscape, seascape, and weather, and Reynolds draws us into those. The descriptions of the Irish coast are reminiscent of those in John Banville's THE SEA. This is a fine reading of a fine book. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2013]