MY FATHER'S SECRET WAR

Using vulgar language and lacking a strong theme or direction, Franks recounts her childhood memories, which include her father's revealing stories of his secret military service during WWII. As Franks learns more of his past, she gains an understanding of his present. Joyce Bean takes a risk by reading as if to small children, using overacted theatrical voices for friends and relatives. The comical character created for the author's father has a distorted and scratchy voice, making him difficult to understand. The light treatment seems incompatible with his somber recollections of the Nazi death camps he helped liberate. Readers looking for serious history will be disappointed, but they may be entertained in their effort to find it. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 07]