WILDERNESS

Richard Poe's strong narration wrings what honest emotion there is from this title, but it's not strong enough to make up for the book's weaknesses. Abel Truman is a New Yorker who is, inexplicably, a veteran of the Confederate Army. He's 30 years a hermit, yet he twice runs into people who know him and help him. With his voice Poe gives the characters some subtlety of characterization that the text does not, but he cannot patch the plot holes. Most impressive is his creation of Truman, a man who is not in the habit of speaking--except to his dog--and who never overtly expresses his deepest sorrows and needs. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2013]