Moby-Duck

Prompted by the accidental dumping of 7,200 yellow "rubber" (they're actually PVC plastic) duckies into the Pacific Ocean (along with thousands and thousands of other plastic animal toys), the author documents his Ahab-ian quest as he follows the path of these toys from their manufacture to their worldwide retrieval by beachcombers. He explores every element of the drama, including the genesis of toy manufacture, the origins of beachcombing, the cultural impact of anthropomorphism, and even the meaning of childhood. (Much of the author's quest takes place as his wife is expecting their first child.) Though the duckies are cute and trivial, the upshot of their journey is monumentally sad. For example, they will circulate in the North Pacific Great Garbage Patch, a Texas-sized repository of floating plastic, for at least half-a-century. Narrator Christopher Evan Welch does an excellent job of delivering the first-person narrative voice, offering a nuanced reading with a mix of bewilderment and wonder. R.W.S. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine