MAN IN THE DARK

Auster's appropriately detached narration penetrates the mind of retired book critic August Brill, who is recovering from a recent injury and the loss of his wife. He lives with his newly divorced daughter and his granddaughter, who is grieving the loss of her fiancé, brutally murdered in Iraq. Immersed in heartache, especially the Iraq death, which seems pointless to him, Brill copes by creating an alternate reality—a world in which the Twin Towers did not fall and parts of the United States revolted with bloody civil war and secession after the 2000 election of George W. Bush. As part of that reality, an assassination plot develops, involving Brill. Auster's mesmerizing performance captures the listener as he delivers his hypnotic tale of political intrigue. B.J.P. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2008]