A Golden Age: A Novel

Anam's account of a widow living in East Pakistan in the early 1970s just as the country erupts into war is a moving tale that narrator Madhur Jaffrey manages to connect with on a very personal level. Aside from a brief musical intro that helps to capture central character Rehana Haque's sheer joy upon awakening one sunny morning, the reading is an interpersonal experience. Jaffrey's grainy British accent takes on a hint of the rolling Pakistani dialect, with her pronunciation pitch perfect and realistic. Jaffrey seems legitimately attached to the story, as she captures the melancholy that Haque cannot avoid throughout the story. Her performance enhances characters that are already textured and rich with personality. There is a certain loneliness in Jaffrey's omniscient narrator, a characteristic that allows the listener to paint a clear and vivid portrait of a fantastic journey that is as heartbreaking as it is inspiring Simultaneous release with the Harper hardcover (Reviews, Sept. 17). (Jan.)