THE RAGTIME FOOL

Set in 1950s America, THE RAGTIME FOOL is a story of music, race, and murder centered around the life and music of ragtime composer Scott Joplin. Karp fills this book with many characters that, while interesting to the story line, prove to be monotonous when read by Mirron Willis. Particularly in scenes of dialogue between three or more people, Willis fails to differentiate between the characters clearly enough. However, Willis's pacing is fluid, and his tone is intense when needed and comfortably relaxed elsewhere. Nonetheless, group dialogue is an essential aspect of the plot, and the story suffers as a result of its narration. J.R.G. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2010]