ESSAYS

Shawn brings an actor’s skill to the narration of these essays, which are deeply concerned with moral, political, and aesthetic philosophy and often reflect on current events. He reads with clarity as well as convincing expressiveness. At times, his slow pace and affectedly simple manner seem out of place, but that’s intentional and appropriate, as the shift reflects his bemused wonder at our signal failure to be truly moral—to know (paraphrasing him) that other people are as real as we are. Unfortunately, the production suffers from a hollow tinny tone. But the listener can eventually ignore that as the honesty and intelligence of these works make them worth hearing. W.M. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2010]