LOST MEMORY OF SKIN

Banks’s new novel forces listeners to look at those who are the lepers of contemporary society—sexual offenders. The story, powerfully performed by Scott Shepherd, doesn't excuse the crime but asks if perpetrators could be handled differently. “The Kid” is an uneducated 22-year-old social reject who is arrested in a police sting in which he attempts to have sex with a 14-year-old girl. He gets three months in jail and 10 years on parole. Constantly monitored by a GPS device, he lives under a highway with other sex offenders, always more than 2,500 feet from schools or playgrounds. Shepherd shines portraying the Professor, a mysterious, morbidly obese man who wants to help. His Southern accent, turned up a notch when necessary, sounds like a voice to be trusted. The novel offers no easy answers but raises the questions about how to deal with a growing social problem. M.S. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2012]