TRANSATLANTIC

McCann's latest is a series of stories linked sometimes haphazardly, each shaped by a life-changing transit between North America and Ireland. The author sets up an interesting relationship between a visit from Frederick Douglass, still technically a runaway slave, to his Irish publisher in the 1840s and the conditions of the Irish poor of the same period, which shocked even Douglass. Geraldine Hughes's light Belfast accent will enchant any who relish regional speech (boot rhymes with foot). Her performance is nicely calibrated, however, to give the flavor of McCann's Northern Irish voices without being impenetrable to North American ears, and she shapes her various characters with delicacy and precision. The book's structure makes pacing a problem, but that's in no way the fault of this lovely narration. B.G. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2013]