CAN YOU TOLERATE THIS? Essays

Narrator Saskia Maarleveld is the perfect guide to the author's contemplation of both significant and smaller moments in her life. In these personal essays, Young is lyrical, quirky, self-effacing, and amusing. Maarleveld's narration is clear, deliberate, and droll. Topics range from a conversation with a psychic stranger on a plane to a young American with a rare bone disorder and to holding Paul McCartney's hand while hiking in the hills. Several essays focus intently on the body--an eating disorder, daily yoga, indecision about removing a faint mustache, her father accidentally taking her contact lenses before piloting a small plane, and the experience of chiropractic manipulation. (The doctor periodically asks, "Can you tolerate this?") Harmony of text and voice comes into perfect focus with Maarleveld's New Zealand accent and Young's descriptions of her hometown landscape in Te Kuiti, New Zealand. A.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphone Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2018]