YEAR OF WONDERS

Portraying goodness over the length of any performance is a dicey proposition. It so easily becomes cloying and saccharine, sometimes to the point of distracting from the story itself. That Stina Nielsen avoids such a pitfall it a testament to her talent. Brooks's novel follows a year of the plague through the experience of Anna Frith, a housemaid and the book's unlikely heroine. Nielsen imbues Anna with such honest passion and generosity that the character maintains our sympathies throughout a story steeped in loss, betrayal, and faith. M.O. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC/ JAN 02]