Bowl of Cherries

Millard Kaufman began writing this sharp debut novel at age 86, and he packs a lifetime of experience and wisdom into this story. The story is a modern-day globe-trotting adventure, as it takes main character Judd from Yale to a world-saving commune, to war-torn Iraq--all told in hindsight from a filthy prison cell, where Judd awaits execution. Kaufman's delight in thrusting Judd from one antic scenario to another is contagious. The audio production is excellent, and Bronson Pinchot carries the story's many twists and turns with aplomb; his voice is deep, and listening is a pleasure. The story's globe-trotting transitions well to listening, and listeners will appreciate the narration's clear use of just-different-enough voices for different characters. M.T. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Starred review from August 27, 2007
Nonagenarian Kaufman—twice nominated for screenwriting Oscars in the 1950s and a cocreator of Mr. Magoo—makes his fiction debut with this irresistible comic novel, a bawdy, original coming-of-age tale. Kaufman brings bright, resourceful Judd Breslau to vivid life, giving him a striving nature that always leads to trouble. After dropping out of Yale at 14, Judd moves into the crumbling mansion of nut-job Egyptologist Phillips Chatterton, where he joins a phalanx of oddball thinkers working on a quixotic project to redesign human society. A fringe benefit is Chatterton's daughter, Valerie, over whom Judd goes ga-ga. Both Judd and Valerie end up in New York, where Judd interviews with a shady corporation seeking a revolting economic opportunity in war-torn Iraq. So it's off to the hilariously backwards Coproliabad, where Judd runs afoul of the new sheikh, who wants Valerie for his queen. In fact, Judd, awaiting execution, narrates the whole book from a fetid jail cell. Kaufman's screwball sensibility, relish for language, gleeful vulgarism and deep sympathy for his characters make this novel an unprecedented joyride. Whether it's due to his being alive for 90 years or not, Kaufman's book is shot through with worldly wit and a keen sense of the humor in human foibles.