THE NEXT BETTER PLACE A Father and Son on the Road

Like an 11-year-old Jack Kerouac, Michael C. Keith spins out the tale of a 1959 cross-country trip with his estranged alcoholic father. On a journey from Albany, New York, to a dream in California, father and son ride the bus, hitchhike, and scramble from one encounter to the next. The trip is seen through the eyes of Mikey, the world-wise preteen the author once was. The portrait of his father is without sentimentality but not without warmth and compassion. The characters they meet along the way, such as a hotel desk clerk who, Mikey says, resembles Nat King Cole, add spice and color to the story. The style is almost stream of consciousness. But the author keeps the narrative flowing. He writes primarily in declarative sentences, which makes listening easy and effectively captures the essence of an 11-year-old. Reader Oliver Wyman distinguishes characters well but without artifice. They sound the way the young narrator might impersonate them. R.C.G. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 03]