In fall 1916, Americans debate whether to enter the European war. “Preparedness parades” march and headlines report German spies. But in an isolated community in the Adirondacks, The danger is barely felt. At Tamarack Lake the focus is on the sick. Wealthy tubercular patients live in private cure cottages; charity patients, mainly immigrants, fill the large public sanatorium. For all, time stands still. An enterprising patient initiates a weekly discussion group. When his well-meaning efforts lead instead to a tragic accident and a terrible betrayal, the war comes home, bringing with it a surge of anti-immigrant prejudice and vigilante sentiment.
Jeff Woodman once again draws upon his thespian experience in this narration, which showcases his performance ability. The central character is Leo, a Russian immigrant who develops tuberculosis and is shipped to a harsh treatment center in the Adirondack Mountains that resembles a prison more than a hospital. Woodman's Leo is an expertly crafted indi?vidual with an impressively accurate Russian accent that evokes his melancholic state upon entering the center. Despite the sheer number of immigrant characters in the story, each one receives his or her own accent and personality. Woodman no doubt took liberties with some of these, but the result is a wide variety of fascinating characters who create a memorable, almost cinematic, experience. L.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
Andrea Barrett has received a National Book Award and a MacArthur grant and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. A fellow at the New York Public Library Center for Scholars and Writers, Barrett lives in North Adams, Massachusetts, and teaches at Williams College.
