AUDIO

Andrew's Brain

by E.L. Doctorow
4 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 4 hrs. Books on Tape. 2014. ISBN 9780804127776. $30; 4 CDs. retail ed. Random Audio; Playaway digital; digital download. F
COPY ISBN
Doctorow's (Ragtime) latest novel is a constrained, brief, and mysterious piece of work, consisting primarily of a series of conversations between what appears to be a therapist and Andrew, a cognitive scientist described by another character as having a gift for leaving disaster in his wake. The mystery is the where and why of these conversations, heightened because listeners can never be sure of the veracity of Andrew, whose subjects seem to range from love story to politics to philosophical mind games. Are his stories allegory, biography, or madness? The fun is in the uncertainty. The author himself narrates, and while his narration lacks the performance quality of some of the better audiobook readers, it rarely detracts from the writing, an impressive feat given how much of the book is comprised of dialog.
VERDICT This will appeal to listeners who appreciate a cerebral listen, masterfully constructed by one of the great American authors. ["Doctorow deftly captures the complex but beautiful vagaries of life in clean, simple language," read the starred review of the Random hc, LJ 10/15/13.]
Reviewed by Heather Malcolm, Bow, WA , Apr 01, 2014
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