Me and the Orgone

The actor/author/reader's memories focus on a blurry Freudian psychology called Orgone, which he found helpful for depression. Since we must ponder his tenet that unsatisfactory orgasms sap our productive energy (or something like that), the writer's clever humor offers the spoonful of sugar that makes hearing such drivel worthwhile. Although picking an actor to read his own book seems like a sure thing, Bean's scratchy voice races for an audio speed record, ignoring opportunities for characterization (like his quote of Alan Ladd in GUNS OF KHYBER PASS) or a theatrical cultivation of some pretty funny lines. If you're depressed, the book's laughs might help, but its polemic cure probably won't. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine