Fitch, Janet. Paint it black.

FITCH, Janet. Paint it black. Read by JenTaylor. 13 cds. 16.25 hrs. BBC Audiobooks America. 2006. 0-7927-4481-0. $112.95. Vinyl; plot, author, reader notes. A

Writing about the suicide of a disturbed but gifted burgeoning artist from the perspective of his bereaved girlfriend, Fitch tells a riveting story that is also a powerful inspection of love, loss, personal identity and self-worth. Twenty-year-old Josie Tyrell, who ran away at 17 from her poor, stultifying small-town roots, ends up in Los Angeles, where she ekes out an existence acting in student film projects and posing nude for art classes. Her life is transformed when her striking, waif-like looks attract the attention of Michael Faraday, a Harvard-educated, world-traveled scion of an internationally famous concert pianist. They move in together, and Josie, who has never before known love, comes to believe in its transformational power. From the novel's opening, when the police request that Josie identify her lover's body, to its ambiguously uplifting end, Josie attempts to cope with her confusion, guilt, pain, and loss while struggling to remain true to whatever Michael most loved about her, which she has also come to love herself. Taylor gives a raw, emotion-charged performance that makes Josie's anger, pain and search for meaning wrenching and palpable. Strong language. Francine Levitov, Attorney, New York, NY

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.