The Mushroom at the End of the World

Narrator Susan Ericksen's performance of this audiobook is a bit on the slow side. The matsutake mushroom, highly valued in Japan, is author Tsing's launching pad as she explores subjects as diverse as logging, refugees, supply chains, history, habitat destruction, academia, and the concept of freedom. Some of Tsing's stories are real grabbers. Overall, though, there is not a strongly discernable structure to this fairly academic audiobook, and Ericksen does not make it an easier listen. She provides a solid rendition that would be entirely fine for a lot of books, but this one needs a bit more verve in its performance to hold the listener. G.S.D. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine