I want to start by saying that the reader for this audio book, Marcella Riordan, is EXCELLENT! I don’t think I would have enjoyed this book nearly so much if I hadn’t listened to the audio, in spite of the fact that it is a well-written and compelling story. The setting is Dublin, Ireland and the book has the lyricism of traditional Irish works, which is appropriate since one of the main characters is J.M. Synge and W.B. Yeats is a secondary character. The benefit of listening to the audio version is that Marcella Riordan brings the lyrical language of the novel to life. She is very believable in her various readings of the characters and particularly in the reading of the main character, Molly Allgood.

Molly is a young woman from the tenements who, with her sister, becomes and actress at the Abbey Theatre, run by Yeats and Augusta Gregory. She meets the playwright J.M. Synge and the pair fall in love. At the beginning of the story, Molly is an elderly alcoholic in dire financial straits. The story is told mostly in her perspective, looking back on her career and relationship with Synge. I was captivated from the beginning by the crafting of the sentences and the masterful plot. I highly recommend this book in audio, or, if you’re not fond of audio books, read it!

Ghost Light, by Joseph O’Connor, read by Marcella Riordan, produced by AudioGO. ISBN: 9780792774945

-submitted by staffer Shannon Baker