Sweeping Up Glass

A fresh, lyrical narration by Lorna Raver enlivens this story of Depression-era Big Foley Mountain, Kentucky. Segregation reigns in this backwater country, where whites and blacks alike eke out a bare subsistence living. The mystery of the cruel wolf hunters, as well as another decades-old mystery, ignites a conflict that embroils the entire community. Wall's imaginative prose becomes poetry in Raver's melodic delivery. Her gentle Southern twang tones down the harsh injustices experienced by Olivia's family and friends Junk and Love Alice, and even gives dimension to the novel's more unsavory characters. Her deft portrayal of Olivia's mother, Ida, starkly depicts her questionable sanity. Raver delivers the novel's suspenseful revelations and illuminates its theme of emotional survival amid tough circumstances. A.W. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine