OLD GOD'S TIME

Stephen Hogan is the ideal interpreter of Sebastian Barry's thoughtful, multilayered novel. His clear, soft Irish accent pulls listeners into the mind of Tom Kettle, an Irish policeman retired to a coastal village who is asked to re-examine a cold case involving abuse by the Catholic Church. It's soon apparent that Kettle's isolation and the case are linked, and that it's not just human visitors who come by to talk. Hogan celebrates Barry's often transcendent prose, savoring the words without wallowing. He handles shifts in perspective and reality with an ease that reduces confusion. And his characterizations are subtle yet distinct--not so much different voices as evocatively different personalities. In Hogan's performance, Kettle is Job, beset with grief yet touched by grace. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2023]