Eight-year-old Bianca, wearing her Superman cape fell, or jumped, out of the window of her aunt's Bronx apartment building. Nothing is ever the same for her earthy, eccentric, extended Italian-American family. Sacred Time, Ursula Hegi's latest novel, follows them through the next five decades as they deal with the risks and pleasures of love, the quotidian ups and downs of life, growing up and growing older, always shadowed by a gnawing grief. Hegi gets it more than right: the time, the place, the people are vivid and authentic, as are the alternating voices—Bianca's mother, aunt, cousin and twin sister—that tell the story. And the voices you hear—Mercedes Ruehl, Bobby Cannavale, Annabella Sciorra—are so perfectly matched to the characters that you easily forget you're listening to actors. An audio presentation that touches the heart and lingers there.

Please note: audios may be available in formats other than the ones reviewed here. Copyright 2004 BookPage Reviews.