PLAYING POSSUM How Animals Understand Death

In barely seven hours, this fascinating and well-researched audiobook opens a window into a science many listeners may not know exists: thanatology, the study of death and its effects. Do animals understand death, and if so, how? The examples--which include elephants, primates, and possums--provide criteria for answering these questions, often with unexpected results. Lisa Ware is a lively and stylish narrator but an odd choice for this narrative, which doesn't require enlivening and is in no way perky. Ware's style is lilting and melodramatic, and she doesn't follow her author's syntax so much as enhance it with her own stresses and shadings. This book has been receiving strong reviews, but this odd and distracting miscasting makes print the preferred choice. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2024]