DID YOU EVER HAVE A FAMILY

The choice to narrate his own work is the sole flaw in Bill Clegg's near-perfect debut novel. It's a beautifully crafted story of hope and survival in the face of an almost unimaginable family tragedy that captures listeners from the opening paragraphs to the poignant ending. The characters, even the supporting ones, are fully realized and offer a range of personalities at once unique and accessible. Clegg's presentation offers little range of pace or inflection and fails to provide the differentiation that would lift the narration to the rich level his prose. However, this distraction absolutely does not warrant abandoning the audiobook. Any listener who answers "yes" to the question posed in the title will find stepping away from this exceptional audiobook is not an option. M.O.B. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2015]