WILD CHILD And Other Stories

Superlative author T.C. Boyle is also an excellent reader of his own work. His voice is purely American West—flat-voweled , pleasantly modulated, with a hint of a baritone growl. He reads without vocal flourish, but with an intensity that captures the listener and won't let go. It's pell-mell without being rushed; urgent but not desperate; entirely articulate. And such stories. The fate of a boy who cannot feel pain; the way in which a California mudslide can save a soul; a girl who may or may not lie for her father. Stories that feel simultaneously quotidian and mythic. My only quibble is that the pauses between stories hardly leave time for a breath (or a reflection). No matter. This is a mesmerizing audiobook experience. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2010]