Bodily Harm

This recording delves deep into the Atwood archives, going back to one of the Canadian author's earliest novels, published in 1981. It follows Rennie, a journalist who spends three weeks on a Caribbean island, where she's retreating from a breakup and a brush with cancer. Rather than paradise, however, Rennie finds herself in the middle of an attempted coup. Bonnie Hurren's pacing is good, and she's a solid fit for Rennie's character, but the voice she ascribes to the other main female character is whiny and unsympathetic, which does a disservice to the novel. She also, unwisely, tries to handle Caribbean accents. D.B. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

Margaret Atwood's introspective investigations into the human psyche have earned her numerous international literary honors. BODILY HARM, first published in 1981, remains intense and fascinating. It follows Rennie, an ingenuous Canadian journalist, as she deals with a partial mastectomy and the breakup of her longtime relation-ship. Rennie decides the time is right to leave behind everything familiar. She accepts an assignment to do a travel piece in the Caribbean, and while trying to sort out her personal mess, becomes entangled in island politics, shady deals, and shadier characters. Except for a few odd pronunciations, Bonnie Hurren's performance complements Atwood's insights. Hurren's matter-of-fact reading suits, as Rennie attempts to control her life in the strange, corrupt world of St. Antoine. The final scenes are electrifying and utterly believable. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine