The Third Translation

By: Matt Bondurant

Narrated by: Paul Michael

Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Walter Rothschild is an American Egyptologist living in London and charged by the British Museum with the task of unlocking the riddle of the Stela of Paser, a centuries-old funerary stone. In the final hours of his quest, with six days left before his contract is up with the British Museum, Walter meets a young woman who expresses an interest in him and his work. That night, he invites her back to the museum; the next morning, she bids him a speedy farewell, and secretly makes off with a precious antiquity. When Walter discovers the theft, it becomes clear that outside forces have designs on his research, and his entire career - and life - is on the line.

The Third Translation is a highly charged, engrossing tale that introduces Matt Bondurant as an important new voice in modern American fiction.

©2005 Matt Bondurant (P)2005 Hyperion

Critic reviews

"The author has an inventive imagination and an ardent feel for place." (Publishers Weekly)
"First-time novelist Bondurant became fascinated by the Stela of Paser while working at the British Museum. His extensive research has paid off in a literary page-turner whose characters are as compelling and complex as the Stela itself." (Booklist)

Okay

I listened to this book during a 15 hour long drive. Not fantastic, but not terrible either. It was okay entertainment. The story is a little weird and not quite what I expected.

Good Idea/Bad Storytelling

The idea was a good one, but nothing great ever materialized. The storytelling was very weak, and it never did draw me in, least of all to actually care about what was happening to the protagonist. The writing was filled with so much strange prose and metaphors that the actual action (when there was any) or interesting occurrences had to be sacrificed to make room for the protagonist's constant musings. I would not recommend this audiobook to anyone interested in a good story.