DARK WIND

After ending a marriage and compromising his reputation as a father, Chaplin tests fate further by involving writer Susan Atkinson, his more cautious lover, in a sailing adventure with physical and emotional dangers. Like many artists, he risks his relationships to follow deeper dreams that can't be ignored. After tragedy strikes at sea, the author questions his decisions and poignantly describes finding connections between the people he's hurt and the partial-self that remains after his devastating loss. Paul Michael's tone respects the art in Chaplin's writing and captures the not-so-pretty picture of the author as victim of himself. Both the story and its reading are hypnotic and make this otherwise smooth abridgment end too soon. T.W. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 00]