MEMORY

Donald Westlake’s style adapts especially well to audio. It’s not hard-boiled, but it’s spare and filled with evocative description. This book is one of his earliest works and was rejected by a publisher as “too literary.” The story follows a man who is beaten by the husband of his paramour and loses his memory. The listener never knows or learns anything the main character doesn’t. This engaging device carries one along. The story is a mystery in the sense that the listener doesn’t know what’s going to happen, but there’s no real crime to solve. Stephen Thorne is solid as the narrator, effectively portraying the weariness and puzzlement of the main character. He doesn’t give each character a distinctive voice but differentiates each with slight changes in tone and pacing. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2010]