THE INCARNATIONS

This surreal story recounts the many lives of Wang, a taxi driver, and his unnamed female "soul mate," whom he knew in previous lives. Narrator Joy Osmanski vigorously delivers the lives of the female in her various incarnations as bride, slave, and letter writer to Wang. Narrator Timo Chen portrays Wang, but his bass pitch reverberates, making him difficult to understand. The mysterious soul mate knows all, writing letters to the present-day Wang, who knows nothing of his past incarnations. As Wang, in the present, searches for the person leaving him the letters, his past lives unfold slowly, relentlessly, and piteously, touching upon many periods in Chinese history. Chen and Osmanski use subtle Chinese intonation and accents for Barker's tale of intertwined lives. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2015]