SOMEBODY The Reckless Life and Remarkable Career of Marlon Brando

Armando Durán admirably performs the heavy labor of narrating the prose and occasionally quoting and inflecting the tone of one of cinema's most quoted leading men. Overall, Durán succeeds in orally evoking images of Marlon Brando, though he does occasionally falter—and these moments are temporarily distracting. Nonetheless, his deliberate and articulate delivery maintains good rhythm and emphasis in executing Kanfer's solid and compelling biography. With his own deliberateness, Kanfer traces Brando's life from beginning to end, paying close attention to the motivations and influences of the actor, who far exceeded expectations but never quite reached his potential. The accessible and enjoyable prose of Kanfer and the deep, steady voice Durán will strike any listener as compelling. L.E. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2009]