The Comfort of Strangers

Colin and Mary trail through Venice's narrow streets in the shimmering heat of their summer vacation. They speak little, they make love, they dine late, they're not happy, not unhappy. Then late one night, while lost amid twisting back alleys on their way to a café, they encounter an enigmatic Italian named Robert. Inexplicably drawn into Robert's embrace, Colin and Mary lose control over their own lives. Let's just say that this 1981 novella by the award-winning Ian McEwan is as riveting and disturbing as his later work. At first hearing, Simon Prebble sounds relaxed as he reads, conveying the lethargy of overheated summer afternoons. Then, almost imperceptibly, he adds an escalating tension to his tone--not too much, just enough to make the listener nervous. That, and spot-on English, Italian, and American accents make for a masterful performance. A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine