GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Aaron Goodson has a pleasing narrative style. He performs this coming-of-age novel in a conversational manner. His pensive tone works for narrator/protagonist David Hammons, the well-read but adrift young man who finds himself working as a fundraising assistant in the 2008 presidential election for the unnamed African American senator from Illinois. This clearly autobiographical novel (Cunningham worked on Barack Obama's staff) succeeds because the author is a keen observer of political goings-on, and his finely crafted story includes smart and nuanced riffs on religion, money in politics, and life on the campaign trail. This fictional tell-all takes the young man to settings that range from Martha's Vineyard to L.A. His observations create a timely listen. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2024]