The Glimmer Palace

June 30, 2008
Covering the life of Lilly Nelly Aphrodite from the turn of the century until World War II, this overly familiar historical novel takes the listener inside the clubs and film industry of Berlin. German accents depict most of the characters; it probably would have been wiser for Justine Eyre and her director to take the Berlin setting as a given, for little attention is paid to class differences. Only an American movie mogul sounds genuine. Eyre portrays Lilly as delicate and sweet; unfortunately, she reads Ilya, Lilly's main love interest, in much the same way, except with a Russian accent. Lilly's best friend Hanna has a gruffer voice that predictably imitates Marlene Dietrich. Though the narrative is clear enough to avoid confusion, most of the women sound exactly alike and boredom is inescapable. A Riverhead hardcover (Reviews, May 5).

Justine Eyre is the ideal narrator for Colin's engaging story of a German orphan girl who, by her extraordinary ability to survive loneliness and hardship, becomes an iconic film star amid the Nazi rise to power. Eyre's characterizations of both male and female voices are genuine and compassionate. Her narration invokes a special empathy for the novel's heroine, Lilly Nelly Aphrodite, whom she grants just the right mix of na•veté and ingenuity to pull the listener along. Eyre's pronunciations are smooth and believable. Indeed, she may be one of the few audiobook narrators who can offer a lilting delivery of German names, places, and phrases. Other accents, notably Russian and American, are also easy on the ear. A great listen. R.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine