EVEN THIS I GET TO EXPERIENCE

Narrating his own memoir, Lear looks back on his long life mostly with wry amusement and humane acceptance, but he also expresses a range of other emotions—from exasperation to wonder and grief. His voice sounds, understandably, a bit creaky but engaging and expressive as well. His pacing and timing are excellent as he keeps the material fresh, his tone reflecting his memories as he recounts them. It’s a remarkable life filled with accomplishment in television, film, and political activism, and his accounts are moving and revealing. Anyone with an interest in the past 60 years of entertainment should be absorbed and may find that, like life itself, the book goes by too quickly. W.M. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2015]