What Was She Thinking?: Notes on a Scandal
Zoe Heller. Blackstone Audiobooks, $25.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-7861-6236-9
Heller's 2003 novel earned tremendous acclaim, including a spot on the shortlist for the prestigious Man Booker Prize. The audio release coincides with the 2007 film adaptation, Notes on a Scandal, starring Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench. Sheba Hart-a beautiful and charming bohemian high school art teacher in her early 40s-places her family, career and social status in grave jeopardy through a sexual relationship with 15-year-old Steven Connolly. Sheba's dowdy colleague and confidant Barbara Covett recounts the story from a deliciously twisted perspective steeped in obsession and jealousy. Veteran narrator Nadia May brings nuance to Barbara's voice. The layered structure of the tale itself-a lonely spinster relating the details of a steamy intergenerational love affair secondhand-presents a challenge for the audio format, but one that May meets with finesse. Listeners wanting to cut to the chase and escape into a garden-variety sexual thriller may grow impatient, but those with an appreciation for character-driven drama will not be disappointed. Simultaneous release with the Picador paperback (Reviews, May 26, 2003).
Details
Reviewed on: 10/30/2006
Genre: Fiction
Analog Audio Cassette - 978-0-7861-4805-9
Compact Disc - 978-0-7861-6232-1
Hardcover - 258 pages - 978-0-8050-7333-1
Open Ebook - 272 pages - 978-1-4299-3287-5
Paperback - 272 pages - 978-0-312-42199-1
Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 978-1-4332-9665-9