THE MEN CAN'T BE SAVED

Jonathan Todd Ross's performance captures the growing unreliability of this novel's narrator, while maintaining the story's humor and tragedy. This is no small feat because the audiobook requires this deft, complicated tone throughout its entire running time. Seth is an up-and-coming copywriter until he's let go. He finds work in a coffee shop, discovering the numbing effects of drugs while attempting to sort out what's happened to him, and where the pathway forward might be. Listeners experience moments of true desperation: At one point, Seth borrows a car from a colleague, only to wind up living in it. The performance's tone is crucial, especially when Seth faces a spiritual reckoning. Ross keeps finding the right notes. S.P.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2023]