The Memory Box - Hardcover

Born in Carlisle, Margaret Forster is the author of many previous novels including LADY'S MAID, MOTHER'S BOYS and SHADOW BABY. She has also written bestselling works of non-fiction, including biographies of Daphne du Maurier and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and HIDDEN LIVES and PRECIOUS LIVES about her own family. She lives in London and the Lake District.

After both her father and stepmother die, Catherine finally brings herself to open the box that her birth mother left for her before dying when Catherine was six months old. As she traces each item's meaning and pieces together her mother's short life story, Catherine herself changes. This is an introspective novel, with almost no action and little dialogue. In the hands of a different reader it could have been very boring. However, the quality of Clare Higgins's voice is well suited to the story. She portrays the Scottish voices flawlessly, doing particularly well with the men's voices, and modulates Catherine's voice so that it never drones or bores the listener. This is an example of a superb performance enhancing a rather ordinary novel. S.S.R. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine