FIVES AND TWENTY-FIVES

Expertly performed by multiple narrators, this audiobook focuses on a Marine engineer platoon in Iraq. The unit’s mission is to fill in potholes on the roads—a task that involves encounters with snipers, IEDs, ambushes by insurgents, and car bombs—but not much glory. Events are presented from various points of view, focusing on platoon leader Lieutenant Donovan, medic Doc Pleasant, and their Iraqi interpreter, who goes by the nickname “Dodge.” Interspersed between the characters’ narratives are “official” documents that provide a framework for the story; these are splendidly read in a resonant, authoritative voice. All the characters are portrayed with adroitness, especially “Dodge”—in a spot-on performance by Fajer Al-Kaisi. This is a production not to be missed. M.T.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2015 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2014]