ANY HUMAN HEART

Simon Vance delivers the fictional intimate journals of Logan Mountstuart (LMS). Vance’s extraordinary reading takes LMS from age 17, in 1923, to his death in 1991. High points include his experiences in the Spanish Civil War; his brief encounters with luminaries, including Picasso, Hemingway, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor; and his involvement with a cell of the Baader-Meinhof gang. Vance’s youthful LMS is enthusiastic, energetic, and foolish. As the callow youth turns into a less-than-appealing adult, Vance manages to keep the listener wondering how LMS will blunder through each revealing, often unflattering episode. Vance’s performance shines as the older LMS struggles to understand his place in the larger world and deal with the harsh realities of old age. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2011]