HENRY, HIMSELF

Stewart O'Nan revisits the Maxwell family, introduced in WISH YOU WERE HERE (2002) and EMILY, ALONE (2011). In the third audiobook, narrator Richmond Hoxie's scratchy voice gives Henry just a hint of amusement as he deals with the routine things that give order to his ordinary life. In a charmingly understated delivery, Hoxie reveals a gentle man who helps out at church, looks forward to summers in Chautauqua, adores his wife, and worries about his adult children. He is overweight, has high cholesterol, and, at 74, has grown aware of his body's limitations. In occasional flashbacks, Hoxie transports us to Henry's childhood and to his WWII traumas. O'Nan offers a lovely novel in which every detail confirms that even an unremarkable man's life is remarkable. Hoxie makes listening worthwhile. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2019]