MY LEFT FOOT

Conor Mullen was an inspired choice to read this classic story of triumph over physical disability, first published in 1954. Within minutes, Mullen's Dublin accent and his total comfort with the text have made you completely forget that you're not listening to the real Christy Brown, an Irish painter who learned to paint with his foot because his hands were disabled. The first half of the autobiography is a fascinating chronicle of Christy's childhood with 22 siblings, his loneliest moments, his emerging skills as a painter and writer, and his pilgrimage to Lourdes. When the narrative stalls in the latter third, Mullen, not the material, carries the listener to the finish. D.B. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 05]