THE MAGIC KINGDOM

It's hard to believe that a single narrator, Danny Campbell, is delivering this confessional novel. Listeners will swear they're hearing the actual reel-to-reel tapes of Harley Mann, made in 1971. He's telling his life story, which involves the Shaker community called New Bethany in Florida's swamplands--what is now Disney World. Campbell sounds like the garrulous old man Harley is purported to be. He rambles on at times, repeats himself, and succumbs to emotional outbursts when he describes forbidden love, jealousy, and his betrayal of the only family he ever knew. MacLeod Andrews delivers the foreword and afterword. The novel may be overly long and detailed, but it will move listeners with its authenticity and candor. D.L.G. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2022]