GARDEN OF STONES

On the eve of her daughter's wedding in 1978, the once beautiful Lucy Takeda recounts the horrors she faced as a teenager in a Japanese internment camp. The events of the war years left her both physically and psychologically scarred. Emily Woo Zeller's expressive performance quickly draws listeners into Lucy's world, capturing their interest from the opening murder scene, which prompts Lucy to remember her youth, and maintaining it to the surprising revelations in the closing chapters. Although her narration is sometimes marred by breath sounds, Zeller's consistent and varied characterizations are impressive. Especially noteworthy is her ability to convey Lucy's growing awareness of the underside of camp life and her transformation from a happy, confident schoolgirl to a lonely, guarded young woman. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2013]