MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION

Narrator Julia Whelan lures listeners into the prescription drug-enhanced fog in which the unnamed protagonist of this audiobook seeks temporary refuge. With the help of a pill-dispensing psychiatrist, the young woman hopes a year of sleep will cure her woes. Fueled by a large inheritance and fistfuls of pharmaceuticals, she limits her contacts to a girlfriend, an ex-boyfriend, the neighborhood bodega clerks, and an up-and-coming artist. Whelan's characterizations are perfection: a detached, sometimes languishing voice for the woman; a perky, high voice for the friend; and distracted confusion for the doctor. The woman's pursuit of hibernation as a means of escape and healing is not without humor, which Whelan perfectly nails with an understated delivery. Sharp observations about New York City round out the story. C.B.L. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2018]