THE REMOVED

Five outstanding narrators capture the beauty and despair of this haunting novel about a Cherokee family that is reckoning with the murder of their teenage son and brother. In the week before the anniversary of his death, Maria, portrayed by DeLanna Studi, tries to hold her family together. Her two adult children, Sonja (Katie Rich) and Edgar(Shaun Taylor-Corbett) wrestle with their own demons. Each narrator brings their character to life. Maria's voice is tired but warm. Edgar sounds frenzied and unmoored. Sonja's sections brim with steely determination. Tying it all together is the deep, assured voice of a Cherokee elder, portrayed by Gary Farmer, whose tales link the family to their past. This powerful intergenerational story carries many interlocking stories within it--tales of ancestors, ghosts, history, legend, memory, and the land itself. L.S. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2021]