By Nightfall

Peter Harris, a second-tier art dealer in Manhattan, has worries, especially about the upcoming visit of his much younger, very beautiful, drug-addicted brother-in-law, Mizzy. Already caught between artist and buyer, between wife and daughter, between youth and middle age, Peter is further conflicted by the presence of Mizzy, who opens the doors of possibility. Peter now thinks about escaping limbo. What is signaled in print through the use of design elements, narrator Hugh Dancy does through his voice: A change in inflection, a slight questioning, a hesitation, or an increase in speed alerts the listener to a switch from stream of consciousness to public dialogue, from narrative description to personal conversation. Dancy's reading brings authenticity to Peter's emotional journey, saving it from self-indulgence. C.B.L. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

July 19, 2010
Contemplating an affair that never was, SoHo art dealer Peter Harris laments that he "could see it all too clearly." The same holds true for Cunningham's emotionally static and drearily conventional latest (after Specimen Days). Peter and his wife, Rebecca—who edits a mid-level art magazine—have settled into a comfortable life in Manhattan's art world, but their staid existence is disrupted by the arrival of Rebecca's much younger brother, Ethan—known as Mizzy, short for "The Mistake." Family golden child Mizzy is a recovering drug addict whose current whim has landed him in New York where he wants to pursue a career in "the arts." Watching Mizzy—whose resemblance to a younger Rebecca unnerves Peter—coast through life without responsibilities makes Peter question his own choices and wonder if it's more than Mizzy's freedom that he covets. Cunningham's sentences are, individually, something to behold, but they're unfortunately pressed into the service of a dud story about a well-off New Yorker's existential crisis.

October 25, 2010
Peter Harris, an art dealer, is having a major midlife crisis. He finds himself sexually attracted to Ethan, his wife's much younger brother, who has come to stay in their SoHo loft. Peter sees in him a younger, provocative version of his wife, Rebecca, just as in his youth, he was drawn to Rebecca's older sister. Actor Hugh Dancy uses a slight, if vague, Southern accent to suggest Ethan and Rebecca's Virginia roots, but he doesn't demonstrate much range. Still, he ably weaves his way through Cunningham's intricate sentences, but even his talent cannot lighten the novel's ponderous prose. There are some elegant passages, but booksellers might do well to steer audio fans to The Hours or Specimen Days. A Farrar, Straus, and Giroux paperback (Reviews, July 19).