THE QUALITY OF SILENCE

Fiona Hardingham narrates mesmerizing descriptions of winter conditions near the Arctic Circle with care and precision. The Inuit tales within the larger story help to complete the depiction of the community of Anaktue, amplifying the vastness, darkness, and silence of the region where Yasmin's husband and 10-year-old Ruby's father, Matt, a wildlife photographer, has disappeared. Hardingham's delivery rigorously interprets Yasmin's grit as she drives a big rig on Alaska's ice road, a new and frightening experience for her and Ruby as they set out to find Matt. Hardingham's voice for Ruby, who is deaf, is terrific. Ruby's deafness adds to the novel's "quality of silence," and she is the real star of the story as she uses all her other senses to tell us how to experience more of what is around us. Listeners will be completely caught up in the atmosphere of this mystery. S.C.A. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2016]