The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Patrick Lawlor evokes the mood of post-WWII America in this audio version of Wilson's classic novel. After returning from the war, Tom Rath attempts to reenter civilian life, while struggling financially and personally and working a dreary desk job at a television network. Lawlor's narration is well-paced, steady, and captures both the blunted emotion and plodding pace of bourgeois life in 1950s Southport, Conn. Lawlor produces a range of memorable voices for Wilson's characters—his version of the strident Mrs. Manter is particularly entertaining, while his energetic portrayal of network executive Ralph Hopkins and spot-on rendering of the devious family caretaker and the sagacious Judge Bernstein will delight listeners as the tension mounts and Rath's well-ordered life threatens to spiral out of control. A Da Capo paperback. (Aug.)