Harvest

George Guidall once again gathers his listener gently into the grip of an intense thriller. We follow the path of a second-year surgical resident tapped for an elite cardiac transplant team, only to begin to have grim misgivings about the members of the team, including the man she plans to marry. Guidall is at his best with a broad range of personalities and emotions that are carefully constructed to make it increasingly difficult to set the tape aside as we move to the terrifying climax. Even one who does not normally read thrillers will find this one hard to resist. J.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine

Starred review from December 3, 2012
In his previous 10 novels, the versatile Crace has been heralded for his firmly rooted, painstakingly detailed impressions of time and place, and his latest work is no exception. In fact, the setting—an isolated English farming village, in an unspecified past, with its “planched and thicketed” inhabitants—is so imaginatively described that it stands as the book’s richest character. Over the course of seven days following the harvest, the hamlet is alight with sudden change. A mysterious fire has set Master Kent’s manor stables and dovecote ablaze. Three newcomers—two men and an ominously alluring woman—who arrived that same night are hastily blamed for the fire. All three have their heads shaved as punishment, and the men are shackled for a week to a pillory. When one of them dies and the master’s favorite horse is later found bludgeoned to death, accusations of witchcraft erupt from within the townsfolk’s ranks and nothing, not even the secretive Master Kent’s halfhearted attempt at rooting out the truth and delivering justice, can quell the thirst for revenge that rattles the once principled town to its foundation. Walter Thirsk plays the perfect unreliable narrator; his deliberations about Master Kent’s true intentions, his neighbors’ guilt, and his own role in the events deepen an already resonant story. Crace’s signature measured delivery and deliberate focus create unforgettably poetic passages that quiver with beauty. An electrifying return to form after All That Follows. Agent: David Godwin, DGA, U.K.

October 1, 2013

Crace (Being Dead) here tells the story of an unnamed English village located out of time. Walter Thirsk, who lives in the village but is not "of" the village, is the narrator, and his rich, lyrical voice draws the reader into this extraordinary novel. Part allegory, part sharp-eyed commentary on the human condition, this work, which was long-listed for the 2013 Man Booker Prize, finds its match in veteran performer John Keating. His reading is as evocative as Crace's prose. VERDICT This rewarding book is recommended for all listeners.--Wendy Galgan, St. Francis Coll., Brooklyn

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