THE BOOK OF LAUGHTER AND FORGETTING

Richmond Hoxie’s performance is affable and capable in this iconic novel. While he does Herculean work in making this atypical text accessible to the listener, the reality remains that this novel, which leaps among story lines, characters, and even points of view, may be better on the page, especially for a first-time reader. The many chapters are exceptionally short; each time Hoxie changes stories, listeners may wish they could flip back to earlier pages in order to follow closely. Hoxie maneuvers through brilliant prose as well as less appealing sections with a kind of poetic meditation, a gentle momentum that suits Kundera’s style. With such a talented narrator and gifted author, a patient listener may find this production memorable. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2012]