BE SWEET: A CONDITIONAL LOVE STORY

"I've always tried to write as if someone were talking," Roy Blount, Jr., told AudioFile, and in fact, his memoir is well suited to the audio format. Blount's use of the vernacular along with formal English (as, he notes, Twain did,) makes the writing sound real and conversational but also stylistically strong. Blount had ample time to polish the delivery of Be Sweet because in the recording studio the exacting director wanted him to get it just right. After multiple takes, he basically knew passages by heart. "I actually sounded like my inner voice to myself," said Blount. Be Sweet doesn't attempt to be a life chronicle, but reflects with beguiling honesty on Blount's relationship with his mother. Balancing his wry humor, candid thoughts and complex emotions, Blount shares with listeners an intimate portrait. Blount has appeared many times with Garrison Keillor on "A Prairie Home Companion," and recorded a short story, "The Way Folks Were Meant to Eat," in Southern Living's collection, Southern Words. He admits he loves a live audience, but for this work he appreciated the opportunity to create an intimate bond between himself and his listener/reader. Blount explains that Holden Caulfield said that a good writer is one you want to be able to call up on the phone, and in Be Sweet listeners have a chance to imagine that author Blount has called to share some personal reflections. R.F.W. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 98]