ON CONSOLATION Finding Solace in Dark Times

Narrating in a warm and soothing voice, historian and former Canadian politician Michael Ignatieff offers a series of essays ruminating on the age-old search for consolation. Beginning his quest with Job, a man whose comfortable, faithful life is upended in a wager between God and Satan, Ignatieff spends some time with biblical subjects, referring to the Hebrew prophets as the "originators of consolation" and examining the psalms and Saint Paul's letters. Ignatieff moves on to classical figures such as Cicero and Marcus Aurelius, coming at last to more modern times of political upheaval, chaos, and war. Where the text is particularly dense, his melodious tones and unhurried pace can become a bit soporific, but overall his narration makes a difficult topic pleasantly approachable. S.G. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2022]