INDEPENDENCE DAY

At first, Richard Poe's voice seems too deep, too long-lived to belong to the slender, 44-year-old divorcé telling us his story in Independence Day. But before long, its wisdom comes to seem right for the wondering--and wandering--that mark Frank Bascombe's long holiday weekend. Poe gives a thoughtful, sympathetic voice to Frank's attempts to parse some of the big questions: Can one person save another? Can love conquer disillusionment? Can a place nourish us in ways that people can't? The narrator's understated tone seems right for a realtor who is trying to soft-sell himself on a better version of life than he thought he could afford. Poe manages a broad range of personalities convincingly. The effect is so good it seems petty to note that a couple of characters tend to sound alike, each talking out of the side of his mouth. T.F. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 99]