THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING, TRAITOR TO THE NATION, VOLUME ONE Volume 1: The Pox Party

Anderson is a master at taking popular culture iconography, epic and historic themes, and likable characters, adding his own twist, and creating stories that are unique. In this first of a projected two-part saga, narrator Peter Francis James puts flesh on a slave boy being raised by a philosophical cult in Colonial Boston. As Octavian grows, the harsh realities of being a black slave collide with the idealism of the social experiment in which he has been sheltered. Adapting Anderson's novel to audio necessitated leaving out the book's sketches, quill-pen jottings, and other visuals. But Peter Francis James's euphonic reading and smooth cadence add humanness to the uneasy story. This 2006 National Book Award winner is not a pleasant story to hear, but it will provoke deep thinking and expand the listener's horizons. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 07]