LOST IN THE SPANISH QUARTER

Lisa Flanagan's quiet, reflective delivery is well matched to this coming-of-age story set in Naples. The story is told in retrospect. Heddi, an American, is reminded of her student years in Italy after receiving an unexpected email from Pietro, her first love and the man she lived with in Naples's Spanish Quarter during college. Flanagan successfully navigates one of the major challenges of this audiobook: believably rendering a variety of both English and Italian accents. By changing her tone and inflection, Flanagan clearly conveys Heddi's thoughts and emotions as she recalls her trajectory from a head-long tumble into love to her gradual realization that she and Pietro are cut from different cloth. Flanagan enlivens the details of the city, allowing Naples to take center stage. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2019]