ENDURING LOVE

When reviewing the abridged version of this book (AudioFile, Oct./Nov. l998), Robin Whitten was troubled by "the disruption of McEwan's careful structure by abridgment." Obviously there is no such problem here. As Joe Rose leans over the body of the man who has fallen from an escaping hot-air balloon, he encounters a man, named Jed Parry, who will shadow him relentlessly--haunting his apartment and answering machine, disrupting his work, almost destroying his marriage--until a final, violent confrontation. Since all this is reported in the first person, David Threlfall, the narrator, becomes Joe Rose, the victim. His rational voice and the deranged voice of Jed Parry become locked in an escalating spiral of suspense. It is a powerful performance...maybe even more powerful than some faint-hearted listeners might wish. Can an audiobook be too good? J.C. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 99]