THE SECRETS OF A FIRE KING

It’s always delicious to discover wonderful writing made more so in audio. Such a marriage of talent is to be found in Edwards’s Fire King, stories published in 1997 and revived after the success of her Memory Keeper’s Daughter. Though she has but a brief time to establish the mood and persona of each story, Bernadette Dunne succeeds totally. Whether she is a clueless matron in Malaysia, the disillusioned daughter of a right-to-life crusader, or the lovesick fire-eater of the title, she hits just the right mood and voice. The locales are often lush, and while the tellers—the neglected daughter of a powerful Indian man, Madame Curie’s cleaning lady, a street performer—are not world-beaters, Dunne gives them dignity. In doing so, she gives us a listening treat. J.B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 07/ JAN 08]