THE TERRIBLE PRIVACY OF MAXWELL SIM

Coe’s novel is perfect for audio. Max is newly separated from his wife, unable to talk to his father, and depressed. He may have 70 friends on Facebook, but that just emphasizes his loneliness and lack of real friends. So Max talks—a lot—to himself or to the GPS (he names it “Emma”) in his car. While flying from Australia to Singapore, Max launches into a monologue that is so long in its desperate attempt to connect with someone that he doesn’t notice he has literally talked his seatmate to death. The gifted Colin Buchanan adapts his rhythm and tone to fully realize Max’s loneliness and fear. GPS has never been so funny as it is with Buchanan’s calm and feminine “Emma” telling Max to “continue on the current road.” A.B. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2010]