BRASS

This audiobook presents unsparing parallel portrayals of a mother and her daughter: Elsie, whose rocky relationship with an Albanian immigrant leads to pregnancy, and Luljeta, her daughter. Now age 17, Luljeta is struggling to come to terms with who she is after realizing she will not be able to escape her hardscrabble town of brass mills just yet. The dual narrations of Lauren Fortgang and Thérèse Plummer vividly depict both the down-on-its-luck town and its hardworking residents, including the Albanian immigrants who are attempting to reconcile their difficult past while forging a new life in America. Elsie's narration is more nuanced, while Luljeta's reflects her adolescent angst. Accents for the Albanian characters help to add dimension to this story of struggle and the search for belonging. S.E.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2018]