WOKE UP LONELY

Narrator Bernadette Dunne's talents are well matched to this offbeat novel about a man who, although being the founder of a worldwide cult to combat loneliness, cannot reconnect with his estranged, elusive wife and their young daughter. Dunne fluidly alters her voice to project the characters' ages and personalities--gravelly and tired, soft and easygoing, sardonically optimistic--varying her tempo and inflections as required to color thoughts and speech with the wide range of required emotions. Despite Dunne's near-flawless performance, this audiobook can be a challenge because the point of view, timeline, and setting change abruptly, and people appear sporadically and unpredictably. If one's attention drifts for even a moment, one can lose track of the novel's frenetic, spiraling plot. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2013]