SHOTGUN LOVESONGS

Nickolas Butler’s novel features the small town of Little Wing and an ensemble of four friends who grew up there. These characters are brought to life by a talented group of narrators, including Scott Shepherd, Ari Fliakos, and Maggie Hoffman. The friends’ reunion, as portrayed in individual chapters by Shepherd, Fliakos, and Hoffman, grabs the listener by the ears and doesn’t let go as old emotional buttons get pushed and new conflicts are explored. Fliakos and Shepherd ably handle the sometimes plaintive voices of the male characters, while Hoffman carries most of the emotional weight with her redolent vocal talents and astonishing emotional connection to her female character, Beth. There’s no question that all the narrators connect with the characters’ emotional journeys. R.O. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2014]