McCabe, Patrick. Winterwood.

McCABE, Patrick. Winterwood. Read by Gerry O'Brien. 6 cds. 6 hrs. Clipper Audio/Recorded Books. 2006. 978-1-4281-4946-5. $92.75. Vinyl; plot notes. A *

McCabe, acclaimed as one of Ireland's finest contemporary writers, is a master of the literary psychological thriller. This tale of madness, inbreeding, murder and sexual abuse twists, turns, and twines with all the beauty and intricacy of a DNA strand. Redmond Hatch, who may or may not be a journalist returning on an assignment to his remote rural ancestral village in the mountains of Ireland, meets an old fiddler in a pub who may or may not be Ned Strange, a friend from his youth. Two things are certain, however: the courses of their lives have run eerily parallel, and neither is what he seems to be. For all of its adult themes, this novel is not in the least explicit. The horror--and there is enough to make the listener's skin crawl--is in the author's skillful use of incremental repetition and in his ability to keep his details (and listeners) always slightly off-kilter. Until its conclusion, the novel takes the form of Redmond's monologue. O'Brien's characterization of the erratic unreliable narrator is brilliant, his tone turning violent and sinister when least expected. He differentiates other speakers adeptly as well. 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.

*--The asterisk highlights exceptional books.