THE MAN IN THE BLACK SUIT

Another four short stories from EVERYTHING'S EVENTUAL (a 14-story collection) begin with the title piece, read by John Cullum. While his performance of Satan appearing to a little boy captures evil incarnate, the boy's accent--indistinctly Western or Southern--clashes harshly with the story's setting in western Maine. A better choice is "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away," read by Peter Gerety, who nails a traveling salesman's suicidal despair, which is tempered by a flicker of hope burning on the thin wick of his graffiti collection. Becky Ann Baker offers a competent rendering of "You Can Only Say What It Is in French," and Arliss Howard gives a spirited performance of the Dillinger gang on the run. R.P.L. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 03]