AUDIO

Restoration

by Rose Tremain
library ed. unabridged. 14 hrs. Blackstone Audio. 2013. ISBN 9781482927702. $84.95; 1 MP3-CD. library/retail eds.; digital download. F
COPY ISBN
Tremain's (The Swimming Pool Season) 1989 release, newly available on audio, is about a 17th-century physician, Robert Merivel, who falls out of favor with the king and tries to rebuild his life. The medical facts are interesting and seem to be spot-on with the time period. Merivel can be self-centered and doesn't seem to care about anyone or anything except for the one person he can't be close to. There is some gratuitous sex, but the story isn't action packed; it is more a day in the life, which does slow down a bit after the middle of the book. The narration by Paul Daneman is at times absolutely brilliant and at other times cartoonish; some listeners will be annoyed by occasional loud mouth clicks that aren't constant but are noticeable.
VERDICT This historical novel—very well written, sometimes humorous, and sometimes a bit sad—is recommended with reservations.
Reviewed by Susie Sharp, Eddy-New Rockford Lib., New Rockford, ND , Nov 08, 2013
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