A WILD WINTER SWAN

While it may, initially, seem a strange choice to cast an older man as the narrator of a winter-themed fantasy featuring a teenage girl, John McDonough ably delivers Maguire's reimagined Hans Christian Andersen tale. The plot, while absurd, is rather simple: How will the misfit main character sneak a goose-boy out of her grandparents' house, bustling as it is with holiday preparations, and send him back to whence he came? Somehow, with McDonough at the helm, the listener is able to suspend disbelief enough to avoid fixating on pesky plot holes and instead enjoy a masterful performance from a voice actor who--whether he meant to or not--comes off as a wry Saint Nick. This is a welcome winter listen. G.P. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2020]