The Darling

Unabridged
Author: Russell Banks
Narrator: Mary Beth Hurt
Genres: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Date: October 2004
Length: 14 hours, 30 minutes
Ratings:
Formats:
  • CD
  • WMA

Overview

The Darling is Hannah Musgrave's story, told emotionally and convincingly years later by Hannah herself. A political radical and member of the Weather Underground, Hannah has fled America to West Africa, where she and her Liberian husband become friends and colleagues of Charles Taylor, the notorious warlord and now ex-president of Liberia. When Taylor leaves for the United States in an effort to escape embezzlement charges, he's immediately placed in prison. Hannah's encounter with Taylor in America ultimately triggers a series of events whose momentum catches Hannah's family in its grip and forces her to make a heartrending choice.

Set in Liberia and the United States from 1975 through 1991, The Darling is a political/historical thriller -- reminiscent of Graham Greene and Joseph Conrad -- that explodes the genre, raising serious philosophical questions about terrorism, political violence, and the clash of races and cultures.

Reviews (2)

The Darlin

Written by Anonymous on August 7th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 2/5

In all of my fifty plus years of literacy, I feel that I must award this selection's fictional narrator, Hannah Musgrave, the Most Self-Absorbed Award. I have spent a good deal of the summer listening to this drawn out tale of narcissism because I can't seem to say I'm finished with a book until I am actually finished. I am very glad to say, with regard to THE DARLING, that I AM FINISHED!!!!!

The Darling

Written by Anonymous on May 12th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

Despite the depressing topic, I thought this was beautifully written and narrated. I loved it.