THE STREETS KEEP CALLING

In Chunichi’s novel, part of a new trend called urban fiction, listeners meet a young man named Breeze as his imprisonment for drug dealing is coming to an end. His mother picks him up, and they return to his grandmother's house, where his attempts to stick to the straight-and-narrow begin. A large cast of unique personalities is well drawn by Bobby Spears, Jr. Surprisingly, the best characterizations are those of women and children, particularly that of Breeze's surprise son, whom he movingly befriends—before learning he's the child’s father. But the alluring call of the streets is evident as Breeze discovers he can't begin to live as he did before on his wages as a janitor. He soon returns to his old habits, faces betrayal by friends, and returns to prison—a turn of events that is both painful but ultimately hopeful. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2011]