SUPER HOST

Narrator Julia Whelan infuses divorced, formerly successful artist Bennett Driscoll with all the bathos of a deeply depressed 50-something man in a midlife crisis. Bennett rents out his large home through AirBed and is an AirBed "Super Host." His renters--and his affair with a much younger bartender, Claire--become the catalysts for his recovery. Whelan fully develops New Yorker Alicia, alone and lonely in England; American artist Emma, whose OCD and absent husband leave her paranoid; Kirstie from Devon, whose sexy, friendly manner soothes Bennett; and no-nonsense Claire, who dreams of owning a bookstore. Whelan's unsentimental renderings highlight Bennett's attempts to understand the women in his life: his 20-something daughter, the ex- who left him, Claire, and the women renters. Whelan's performance offers hours of enjoyment. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2021]