UNSHELTERED

Playing with layered meanings of shelter, author, and, here, narrator, Barbara Kingsolver weaves the stories of two families tied to the same house in Vineland, New Jersey, across two centuries. In the present day, Willa copes with the aftermath of the unexpected loss of her daughter-in-law, adding additional burden to a family barely getting by. In the late nineteenth century, Thatcher returns to his wife's ancestral homeland for a teaching position. Each family struggles to rise above the economic and psychological barriers of its time. The parallels are striking, often dispiriting. Marred at the outset by a background echo, Kingsolver's performance is imperfect and uneven, though still worthwhile. Her warm, lightly accented voice with its natural emotional pull is effectively applied in her performances of the female characters. A.S. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2018]