A MIRACLE OF CATFISH

Author Larry Brown returns to the theme of fatherhood in his final work, left unfinished at this death and completed by his editor. Set near Oxford, Mississippi, the story of a young boy, Jimmy, who befriends his secretive, troubled neighbor, Cortez Sharp, in an effort to find acceptance and companionship is an honest and lonesome account that echoes Brown's previous masterpieces. However, narrator Tom Stechschulte fails to capture its tone of remote longing. Instead he delivers a theatrical reading that complicates the story and ultimately loses the listener. The characters become stereotypical figures, especially in the use of uninspired accents. Sadly, Brown's final novel is a letdown because of a disappointing narration. L.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 08]