A SOLDIER OF THE GREAT WAR

Helprin's monumental novel about transcending cynicism and hopelessness even in the midst of a slaughter like WWI presents a narrator with a sizable challenge. Characters, particularly the protagonist, Alessandro Guiliani, a professor of aesthetics turned infantryman, often speak less in ordinary dialogue than in philosophical treatises. On the written page readers can overlook the contrivance, but will they tire of these lectures when read aloud? If David Colacci is the narrator, the answer is absolutely not. He invests the dialogue with such intellectual conviction and ardor that the conversations convey dynamism and naturalness. In this way, Colacci keeps listeners enthralled not only by Alessandro's extraordinary wartime adventures but also by his synthesis of these shattering experiences. M.O. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2008]