LUCKY

Stina Nielsen's melodious voice and elegant performing style work well for this autobiographical novel. She narrates with understanding and emulates the main character's musical musings. Her tone and timbre are just right for Jodie Rattler, the singer-songwriter who has luck in her career but challenges in her love and family lives. The references to twentieth-century music will surely drive listeners to create their own accompanying playlist. The story, set mostly in St Louis, concludes in a dystopian future, but the epilogue takes a meta twist and gets a little murky when the "gawky girl" from the past, now a novelist--clearly Smiley--appears, interacts, and then dies. Nielsen's narration makes this story of improbable success engaging. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2024]