A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

Alas, nowadays when people hear this book title, they think of the Lou Reed song—inspired by the Algren novel—or the movie with Laurence Harvey, a decimation of the book. That’s why it’s great to finally have a definitive audio version. Algren’s crazy pastiche of Texas Panhandle down-and-outers seems especially fresh today, more than five decades after its debut. His freewheeling style and use of vernacular are channeled by narrator Keith Szarabajka, who breathes life into colorful losers like Kitty Twist and the legless Achilles Schmidt. Those who enjoy the sparse regional styles of John Steinbeck and Anne Proulx will especially enjoy this production. Headphones listeners: The shouting sermons of Fitz Linkhorn, though mesmerizing, are a little too loud. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2010]