PEOPLE OF THE WHALE

Thomas Witka Just is a member of a fictional Northwest tribe with ties to the whale and the octopus. Unexpectedly, he signs up to fight in Vietnam, where he deserts the Army and forms another family. Stefan Rudnicki effectively uses his deep voice to render Thomas as a lost soul and his abandoned wife, Ruth, as the conscience of the tribe. The tribe is also lost, and when it revives the practice of whaling for the wrong reasons, a series of disasters occurs. Although Rudnicki's timing is impeccable—he slows and softens his tone with each tragedy—the overall narration is a bit overly dramatic—in the manner of reading to a child. A.B. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2009]