CHRONIC CITY

Narrator Mark Deakins tries to wrestle this aimless narrative about former child star Chase Insteadman into a compelling story that has some sort of meaning. Alas, he’s unsuccessful. Novelist Jonathan Lethem creates colorful characters with substantial problems, but listeners will have a hard time mustering empathy for a hero who doesn't know what he wants. Deakins’s portrayals of Chase and his pot-smoking sidekick, Perkus Tooth, are tedious and uninspired. Deakins does spark interest when Chase's fiancée, astronaut Janice Strumbull, develops cancer and becomes a celebrity, much to the chagrin of her paramour. But overall, this tedious drama fails to ignite empathy in the listener. R.O. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2010]