cover image Indignation

Indignation

Philip Roth, , read by Dick Hill. . Brilliance Audio, $26.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-4233-6972-1

Roth’s 29th book tells the tale of young Marcus Messner, a boy forced to attend a pastoral, conservative college because of his father’s apprehensions about life in 1951 New Jersey. Narrator Dick Hill delivers a sturdy performance that manages to bring Messner to life, but never really captures the listeners attention as he normally does. As talented as Hill is, there’s something lacking in his characterization. He reads with a droning, slightly whiny voice that sometimes grates. Hill always seems on the verge of losing himself into the tale only to yank himself back from the edge at the last moment. He has a knack for bringing characters to life, but here he sounds tired. A Houghton Mifflin hardcover (Reviews, May 12). (Sept.)