THE DEAD REPUBLIC

Gerard Doyle has a marvelous way with the old-man voice of Henry Smart in the final part of Doyle’s trilogy. It’s like those moments when you look at an old man and see the boy he once was. This last installment of Henry’s life is perhaps not the place to meet him, as big parts of his story are missing, and it’s not instantly clear that they’ve simply been told elsewhere rather than forgotten due to some amnesiac part of the plot. What is told here, though, is moving and winning as old Henry becomes the living symbol of historic events that in ironic truth he wasn’t present for. Doyle’s vocal portrait is deft, lyrical, and often funny, and adds palpably to all that makes Henry so utterly charming throughout this trilogy. B.G. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2010]