WEATHER

Narrator Cassandra Campbell is fully believable as she narrates this stream-of-consciousness story told in the protagonist’s voice. Lizzie, a university librarian without a degree who fancies herself an amateur shrink, tries to fix the personal disasters of family, friends, and library patrons while obsessing over the doomed future of the world. She has joy in her voice as she interacts with her husband and son, who give her life balance, but as she gets more involved in trying to solve the problems of her divorced mother and her brother, a former addict who is a new father, her voice becomes more detached. As the the character becomes overwhelmed, the narrator seems to, as well. As Lizzie takes over responding to letters to her mentor’s podcast, Campbell’s voicings of all the characters become less distinct and more distant in tone. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2020]