THE DESCENDANTS

Jonathan Davis reads in a strong voice, but each sentence ends in a pause, a vocal style that fits the story’s main character, Matthew King, a man who is questioning his life. After Matthew decides to sell the last parcel of his family land in Hawaii and disconnect his comatose wife from life support, he discovers she had planned to divorce him for a new lover. Further, his 10-year-old daughter is mentally disturbed, and his 17-year-old daughter is recovering from drug addiction. As Davis inserts pregnant pauses into his delivery, we get a strong sense that Matthew doesn't know what’s going to come at him next. Once Matthew forms a solid vision of his future, Davis's reading reflects the change with stronger, surer tones. S.W. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 07]