BROKEN JEWEL

In 1945, after receiving word that the Japanese were planning to massacre American and other Allied prisoners at the Los Baños camp near Manila, the American 11th Airborne Division and Filipino guerilla forces attacked the camp and rescued 2,100 internees. Robbins’s novel, based on these actual events, centers on father and son Remy and Tal Tuck and Carmen, a Filipina forced into sexual slavery, as they struggle to survive desperate living conditions, starvation, and the brutal abuses of their Japanese captors. George Guidall’s narration delivers every ounce of courage, suspense, and humanity Robbins intends. Guidall can be omnipresent and invisible all at once. His subtlety adds depth to every character. With only slight vocal shifts, he transmits volumes. Artful storytelling. Artful performance. Worthwhile listening. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2010]