Leni: The Life & Work of Leni Riefenstahl

Tiefenthaler, an actress and writer of Austrian descent, was raised and educated in England, but her reading of Bach's biography of the famed and reviled Nazi filmmaker betrays a puzzling lack of familiarity with the rhythms of the English language. Her fruity accent notwithstanding, Tiefenthaler delivers a halting performance, pausing in the middle of linked phrases, or unexpectedly extending a sentence, as if she had not realized that further work remained to be done. The reading of an audiobook should be fluid, as if the reader was the composer of the book, intimately familiar with each and every word. Tiefenthaler evokes images of a reader squinting at a piece of paper, attempting to suss out the words on the fly, and the results cannot help detracting from Bach's solid work. Available as a Knopf hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 29). (June)