MAYBE A FOX

Alison McGhee is a talented writer, but these skills haven't transitioned well to her narration of this co-authored audiobook. The alternating human and animal stories--character driven and and slow paced--require a gifted narrator to engage listeners. McGhee's reading is self-conscious, often stilted and sentimental. The protagonist of the human story is Jules, who grieves the sudden, shocking death of her sister, Sylvie. McGhee voices this sensitive plot with a breathy rhythm that may express grief but doesn't do Jules's strong emotions justice. The secondary story follows a growing fox cub, and listeners must suspend disbelief to trust the authors' magical realism and enjoy the lyrical words that connect the two stories. Perhaps this audio would have had better success with a more accomplished narrator. S.W. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2016]