A PATCHWORK PLANET

Barnaby Gaitland bumbles through life, taking each day as it comes, living paycheck to paycheck, avoiding stress as much as possible. His family, a blend of old wealth and working for a living, finds his value system wanting, but Barnaby doesn't much care. As the story unfolds, we see the motivation behind Lloyd James's even-paced, somewhat monotonous performance. Barnaby's "Margaritaville" approach to life is reflected in James's no-stress reading. One sometimes wishes he would imbue a little more life into the sharper characters; but, on the other hand, as a first-person account, the story must be filtered through Barnaby's even-tempered attitude. This is a performance that sneaks up on you. Just when you realize you're enjoying it immensely, it's over. R.P.L. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 99]