Miral

Jebreal refracts the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of the experience of generations of Israeli and Palestinian women, focusing ultimately on Miral, a young Palestinian orphan who comes of age in the shadow of the intifada and gradually joins the resistance. Sneha Mathan's dignified delivery has a light, indistinctly Middle Eastern accent that lends the narration authenticity. She infuses emotion through emphasis and tonal shifts, but never crosses into the overdramatic. Despite an ever-shifting cast in the first half, she keeps vocal consistency of the characters and moves into other accents seamlessly. A Penguin paperback. (Mar.)