PEW

Narrator Bahni Turpin gives a tour-de-force performance in this strange allegory featuring a nondescript person found sleeping on a church pew in a small, unnamed Southern town. Turpin finds a middle-gender tone for Pew’s inner monologue as they describe their feelings and impressions of life and love. Pew refuses to speak, so the townspeople pass them from one institution to another as they debate their identity. Turpin’s extraordinary range includes everyone from small children to older men and women. In one scene involving the mysterious annual Forgiveness Festival, Turpin switches age and gender with the ease of water slipping through one’s fingers. PEW is a strange ride, but trust Turpin to steer the ship. R.O. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2021 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2020]