TEN DAYS IN THE HILLS

Suzanne Toren delivers magnificently in this fascinating but difficult narration task, involving 10 people in a mansion in the Hollywood Hills who tell their personal stories over a ten-day period. The book is Smiley’s version of Boccaccio’s DECAMERON, and her topics are movies, the Iraq War, and sex, lots of sex. When no one is telling a story, the action is almost always sexual. Toren gives each of the 10 characters, plus a covey of six Russians who make cameo appearances, a distinct, immediately recognizable voice. And she carries them successfully through conversations and monologues. Her varied pacing keeps the monologues moving, never letting the listener’s interest wane. Toren’s one-woman show is a winner. R.E.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 07]