LAZARUS MAN

Novelist Richard Price has as fine an ear for American speech as anyone writing today, and his panoramic novels have tested the skill of a string of fine audiobook narrators. His latest, revolving around the collapse of an apartment building in East Harlem in 1982, moves from one character to another--a photographer, a policewoman, an undertaker, and the Lazarus Man of the title, who is found trapped but uninjured in the rubble near the very end of the search. The narrative moves slowly and without a clear objective; this is not one of Price's best. But it's rendered effectively by narrator Robb Moreira, who has an excellent feel for the characters, their voices and emotional centers. He infuses even the slackest scenes with immediacy and purpose. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2024]