Journalist wannabe Edgar Kellogg’s first assignment finds him in a backwater breakaway region of Portugal, with a group of jaded foreign correspondents who are feeling abandoned by their newspapers and eagerly awaiting the next act of terrorism. The protagonist is no sweetheart himself, and Ballerini’s soft-spoken delivery conveys Kellogg’s anxiety, distrust, and arrogance, which mark the core of this novel. Ballerini’s character voices for the gang of unlikable journalists are colorful and imaginative, and in their often acid dialogue he transitions effortlessly. This cynical take on foreign correspondence will have listeners thinking about how journalists influence the way the news is reported. And this story, though an extreme example, is made uncomfortably realistic with Ballerini’s deft narration. F.T. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

[Shriver’s] whip-smart observations—about relationships, the role of the media, the cult of personality are funny and on the mark.” — People

“In her latest novel, Lionel Shriver pays homage to Joseph Conrad—examining terrorism, media bloodlust, and the cult of personality through an unexpected lens of satire.” — Marie Claire, Four New Page-Turners to Keep Bedside

“A very funny book, but the laughs are embedded in a deeply disturbing subject.” — NPR, "Weekend Edition"

“Shriver is cursed with knowing the human animal all too well. The New Republic is satire of a Shriver kind, that is to say biting.” — Miami Herald

“Lionel Shriver, the author of the harrowing and patient We Need to Talk About Kevin, delivers something altogether different: a callous and romping political and journalistic satire.” — The Daily Beast— This Week's Hot Reads

“Shriver is one of the sharpest talents around.” — USA Today

“Witty, caustic and worldly, [Shriver] is a raconteur who could show even Barrington Saddler a thing or two about entertaining a crowd.” — Wall Street Journal

“Shriver has been a National Book Award finalist with good reason: Her page-turners examine serious issues.” — Reader's Digest Recommends

“A wondrously fanciful plot, vividly drawn characters, clever and cynical dialogue, and a comically brilliant and verisimilar imagined land. . . . The New Republic is simply terrific.” — Booklist (starred review)

“The dialogue zings and the writing is jazzy. . . . [Shriver] can toss off a sharp sketch of a passing character in a phrase, and she’s got a gimlet eye for what’s phony, or affected, or even touchingly vain in human behavior.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Shriver is an incisive social satirist with a clear grip on the ironies of our contemporary age . . . [Her] take on journalism and international politics is wry, insightful and just over the top enough to be fun.” — Los Angeles Times

“[Shriver] is uncannily perceptive[with a] vigorous capacity for compassion . . . [A] surprisingly tender novel disguised as a clever satire delivered in polished prose.” — Philadelphia Inquirer

“Part Scoop, part Our Man in Havana and part Len Deighton thriller, Shriver’s novel is not just about terrorism but also about journalism and the nature of charisma. . . . Shriver’s Barba is a wonderful creation.” — Financial Times

Witty, caustic and worldly, [Shriver] is a raconteur who could show even Barrington Saddler a thing or two about entertaining a crowd.

[Shriver’s] whip-smart observations—about relationships, the role of the media, the cult of personality are funny and on the mark.

A wondrously fanciful plot, vividly drawn characters, clever and cynical dialogue, and a comically brilliant and verisimilar imagined land. . . . The New Republic is simply terrific.

Shriver is cursed with knowing the human animal all too well. The New Republic is satire of a Shriver kind, that is to say biting.

Lionel Shriver, the author of the harrowing and patient We Need to Talk About Kevin, delivers something altogether different: a callous and romping political and journalistic satire.

Shriver is one of the sharpest talents around.

A very funny book, but the laughs are embedded in a deeply disturbing subject.

In her latest novel, Lionel Shriver pays homage to Joseph Conrad—examining terrorism, media bloodlust, and the cult of personality through an unexpected lens of satire.

The dialogue zings and the writing is jazzy. . . . [Shriver] can toss off a sharp sketch of a passing character in a phrase, and she’s got a gimlet eye for what’s phony, or affected, or even touchingly vain in human behavior.

Shriver is an incisive social satirist with a clear grip on the ironies of our contemporary age . . . [Her] take on journalism and international politics is wry, insightful and just over the top enough to be fun.

Part Scoop, part Our Man in Havana and part Len Deighton thriller, Shriver’s novel is not just about terrorism but also about journalism and the nature of charisma. . . . Shriver’s Barba is a wonderful creation.

[Shriver] is uncannily perceptive[with a] vigorous capacity for compassion . . . [A] surprisingly tender novel disguised as a clever satire delivered in polished prose.

Shriver has been a National Book Award finalist with good reason: Her page-turners examine serious issues.

Shriver is one of the sharpest talents around.

Shriver is cursed with knowing the human animal all too well. The New Republic is satire of a Shriver kind, that is to say biting.

Witty, caustic and worldly, [Shriver] is a raconteur who could show even Barrington Saddler a thing or two about entertaining a crowd.

Shriver is an incisive social satirist with a clear grip on the ironies of our contemporary age . . . [Her] take on journalism and international politics is wry, insightful and just over the top enough to be fun.

Part Scoop, part Our Man in Havana and part Len Deighton thriller, Shriver’s novel is not just about terrorism but also about journalism and the nature of charisma. . . . Shriver’s Barba is a wonderful creation.

Lionel Shriver, the author of the harrowing and patient We Need to Talk About Kevin, delivers something altogether different: a callous and romping political and journalistic satire.

Lionel Shriver, the author of the harrowing and patient We Need to Talk About Kevin, delivers something altogether different: a callous and romping political and journalistic satire.

A very funny book, but the laughs are embedded in a deeply disturbing subject.

"A wondrously fanciful plot, vividly drawn characters, clever and cynical dialogue, and a comically brilliant and verisimilar imagined land. . . . The New Republic is simply terrific."

"Lionel Shriver, the author of the harrowing and patient We Need to Talk About Kevin, delivers something altogether different: a callous and romping political and journalistic satire."

"A very funny book, but the laughs are embedded in a deeply disturbing subject."

"[Shriver’s] whip-smart observations—about relationships, the role of the media, the cult of personality are funny and on the mark."

Journalist wannabe Edgar Kellogg’s first assignment finds him in a backwater breakaway region of Portugal, with a group of jaded foreign correspondents who are feeling abandoned by their newspapers and eagerly awaiting the next act of terrorism. The protagonist is no sweetheart himself, and Ballerini’s soft-spoken delivery conveys Kellogg’s anxiety, distrust, and arrogance, which mark the core of this novel. Ballerini’s character voices for the gang of unlikable journalists are colorful and imaginative, and in their often acid dialogue he transitions effortlessly. This cynical take on foreign correspondence will have listeners thinking about how journalists influence the way the news is reported. And this story, though an extreme example, is made uncomfortably realistic with Ballerini’s deft narration. F.T. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine