THE MATCHMAKER'S GIFT

Eva Kaminsky and Gabra Zackman gloriously perform this charming dual-timeline audiobook. Zackman portrays Sara, a young, Jewish woman who lives on the Lower East Side in the 1910s. She has an extraordinary gift for matchmaking that is being challenged by the established Jewish male marriage brokers. Kaminsky depicts Sara's granddaughter, Abby, a 20-something divorce attorney in 1994, who has received Sara's matchmaking journals as a bequest. Reading them makes her question her choices. Both narrators smoothly shift among the many characters, finding just the right tone and expression for each one and providing authentic Yiddish pronunciations where needed to add ambiance. Notable are Zackman's expert depictions of the crowded tenements and bustling streets lined with pushcarts and Kaminsky's vibrant evocation of cutthroat legal settings. M.J. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2022]