THE BOYS OF MY YOUTH

Jo Ann Beard's narration of her autobiographical remembrances of boys (and girls) past is low-key, recounting her early family life, starting with her observations from within the bars of her crib, her perceptions of those around her, her alcoholic father, her mother's death, and her interactions with others. She tells of the day she stayed home to take care of her sick dog and a crazed employee massacred her co-workers. Yet even this high drama limps along, delivered in a monotone that might be mistaken for intimacy but is, sadly, just dull. While the nature of memory is rambling and not specific, perhaps in the hands of a professional, skilled narrator these bits and pieces from Beard's girlhood and adult life might have been engaging. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2016]