LOST BELIEVERS

Gilli Messer exquisitely narrates this audiobook featuring a unique setting and memorable characters listeners will not soon forget. Her skill in conveying the story's lyrical writing and poetic cadence is a treat to hear. Agafia and her parents and siblings, who are "Old Believers," live in isolation in the Siberian taiga, where they settled in order to continue their religious practice without governmental interference. Russian geologist Galina and her pilot and romantic partner, who is nicknamed Snow Crane, are charged with surveying the wilderness locale where the family lives for a possible iron mine. Messer fully inhabits every character, highlighting the tensions that arise when the scientists encounter this pious family. Her impeccable accents and Russian pronunciations add authenticity. An immersive and transporting audio production. M.J. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2023]