Strangers in Budapest

September 25, 2017
The second novel from Keener (Night Swim) follows a young American couple as they learn to survive in 1990s Budapest, a city wildly different from their hometown of Stow, Mass. Annie and Will Gordon move to Budapest with their young son Leo so that Will can pursue a business opportunity building communications networks in rural Hungary. Shortly after they arrive, the Gordons’ neighbors back in Massachusetts ask them for a favor: to check on Edward Weiss, an elderly American friend of theirs who is living in Budapest. Annie visits Edward, and she eventually discovers that he has been devastated by the loss of his daughter Deborah and believes that her husband was responsible for her death. Annie agrees to help Edward find his former son-in-law, but the dangers of the city soon threaten her family’s safety. Keener immerses the reader in Budapest’s postcommunist period in all its tumultuous glory. As the Gordons get in over their heads in their new city, the author combines strong characters and a riveting plot to craft a memorable novel.

Amy Landon offers an adept narration of this audiobook, a novel that offers an interesting premise but ultimately gets bogged down in repetition and contradiction. Annie and Will are Americans in 1990s Budapest. The parents of an infant, they also aspire to business success and personal enrichment. However, they're getting weary from doors that are closed to them. Landon creates a lovely balance between the empathetic narrator she is and the distressed protagonists she portrays, her voice shifting gracefully as she maneuvers Annie and Will's personal and professional complexities. Her pacing and dialogue are well considered, and the overall effect is worth a listen. As mysteries arise, the listener is likely to stick with STRANGERS IN BUDAPEST as much for Landon's narration as for the story itself. L.B.F. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine