WHEN MOUNTAINS WALKED

The last tape presents a wonderful author interview in which Kate Wheeler discusses insightfully the creative processes behind her first novel. The book itself focuses on two women's emotional and geographic odysseys in Peru, one a grandmother in the 1940s, the other her contemporary granddaughter. Both women struggle with smothering marriages, unexpected romance, and the trek toward self-awareness. Reader Suzanne Toren overdoes the dialogue for some of the characters (especially the granddaughter's husband) and thus risks stereotyping individuals the author has drawn more subtly. Toren excels, however, with the lyrical descriptive narration, which is one of the novel's defining traits. G.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 02]