THE BOAT ROCKER

Ex-pat journalist Danlin attempts to expose the Chinese government's scheme to make a worldwide bestseller out of a mediocre novel written by his ex-wife, Haili. Narrator Edoardo Ballerini colors his performance with a well-crafted balance of earnestness, indignation, and naïveté, highlighting Danlin's emotional state as he investigates the intersection of art and politics and contends with his unresolved feelings for Haili. Ballerini's pronunciations of the many Chinese names and places are believable; however, his choice to forgo any kind of accent, even for characters speaking pidgin English, disconnects listeners from the cultural milieu of the audiobook. Ballerini's delivery takes on an appropriate hint of bitterness as Danlin begins to realize that not even his new U.S. citizenship can protect him from China's manipulative power. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2016]