The Noonday Demon

An accomplished writer narrates his intimate essay on the world's most pervasive emotional malady. His memoir thoughtfully looks at how people across the globe react to their depressive vulnerabilities and/or their life-draining circumstances. The excellent abridgment looks at all manifestations of depression, from violent acting out to morbid self-loathing, and the author doesn't spare any details in the telling of his own trail of symptoms. But from the authority of these experiences comes a message of limitless hope and a heartfelt urging to never give up when besieged by depression in any of its forms. Read with compelling immediacy, this is an audio you won't forget. T.W. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine


In this National Book Award winner, novelist Andrew Solomon examines the anatomy of depression--its causes, symptoms, and treatment--while recounting his own battle with a particularly severe case. He writes concisely and gracefully, frequently quoting the many literary melancholics (for example, Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath) who have written about their own pathology. His unapologetic use of clinical vocabulary might be daunting to some were it not for Barrett Whitener's crisp, scrupulous reading. One hears great empathy in his voice, but thankfully, self-pity is absent both from text and interpretation. Even so, the tape may depress the listener at first, though the feeling eventually lifts. This is intentional and a mark of Solomon's artistry, for the malady is often debilitating, sometimes deadly, difficult to treat, and claiming ever more victims. Yet often it is dismissed as temporary or immature or a relatively harmless nuisance. Making one feel it even momentarily reveals how serious depression can be and how valuable the knowledge contained in this volume. Y.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine