PARROT AND OLIVIER IN AMERICA

Narrator Humphrey Bower perfectly juggles a variety of complex characters and accents in Carey’s historical novel. Olivier-Jean-Baptist de Clarel de Barfleur, a fictionalized version of Alexis de Tocqueville, is sent to America after his involvement in events surrounding Napoleon's return and the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X. Humphrey Bower inhabits Olivier’s friend, the lovable Parrot, aka John Larrit, an ex-con who becomes Olivier’s servant and a spy for Olivier's mother. Bower shows extraordinary vocal flexibility, pacing, and sensitivity as the relationship between Olivier and Parrot deepens against the remarkable tableau of undeveloped America and the rough-hewn people who created the greatest nation on earth. R.O. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2010]