AUDIO

Marina

6 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 7½ hrs. Hachette Audio. 2014. ISBN 9781478953685. $25; Playaway digital; digital download. F
COPY ISBN
OrangeReviewStarWandering near his boarding school in Barcelona, Oscar discovers a dilapidated mansion in which teenager Marina and her father live in a genteel time warp. Soon Oscar and Marina are roaming crumbling neighborhoods in the old city and stumble into a malevolent mystery that threatens their lives. Spanish novelist Zafón's (The Prisoner of Heaven) cinematic writing ensnares the listener in a supernatural snow globe of altered reality both hypnotic and beguiling. Daniel Weyman's narration is so vivid listeners may expect to see multiple readers listed in the credits. Originally labeled "young adult" when published in Spanish in 1999, Marina has crossed over to an intergenerational, international following.
VERDICT If word of mouth fails to push this infective gem, readers' advisory is imperative since the cover illustration does not convey its gothic mysteriousness.
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