THE CASTLE IN THE FOREST

Mailer grabs your attention immediately with his main character, a devil serving high in the ranks of Satan who is present at Adolph Hitler's inception and is charged with overseeing his childhood. Mailer maintains interest with glorious writing, fastidious detailing and research, and intriguing philosophical underpinnings about the order of Hell, Heaven, and Earth. Harris Yulin's narration carries the proper authoritarian tones for the narrator, humanizing him enough to lend believability to his potential unreliability. Yulin's guttural portrayal of Hitler's licentious, bullying father sheds light on the boy's development of uncomfortable sexual practices and need for power. His tones for Hitler's mother are softer, and her indulgences further clarify confusions about feces and sibling preferences that might easily pervert a young psyche. S.W. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 07]