M TRAIN

Patti Smith is best known as a musician—her most famous tune, “Because the Night,” rocks on. But this memoir, her second, contains nothing about her music. It’s a series of personal reveries on her late husband, eclectic travels, coffee shops, her cottage on Rockaway Beach, destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. In her narration, her authentic personal style may come across as a monotone, especially to those who are expecting her rocker expressiveness. Such listeners may think her lack of emphasis sounds as if she has no personal connection with the words. Those who admire Smith the poet, visual artist, and author of the acclaimed earlier memoir JUST KIDS will most likely appreciate the authenticity of her reading, if not the style itself. M.S. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2015]