A Little More Human

February 20, 2017
Maazel’s (Woke Up Lonely) third novel blends science fiction, satire, farce, literary mystery, and comic book adventure that probes the human heart even as it describes drugs and robotics propelling us into a bionic, posthuman world. During the week, nursing assistant Phil Snyder works at SCET, his family’s Staten Island biotech firm specializing in new and experimental treatments for brain injuries, while weekends he dresses up as popular superhero Brainstorm for toy stores and children’s events. Like Brainstorm, Phil can read minds; unlike Brainstorm, his life is spiraling out of control. Without his knowledge, his wife has become pregnant through a sperm bank. His father, Doc, an SCET cofounder, is rapidly succumbing to dementia. Worst of all, Phil receives four photos in the mail showing him in his Brainstorm costume, stripped to the waist, standing over a battered woman. Unable to remember what happened the night the photos were taken, Phil seeks out the victim, Effie, and embarks on a journey involving an unidentified dead body and a series of unanswered questions. Maazel’s clever, incisive prose makes the roller-coaster plot a fun if exhausting ride.

Whenever a novel begins with the main character struggling to remember what happened the night before, you know weird things are going to emerge. In this memorable audiobook, the unusual things surpass expectations. Narrator Eric Summerer captures the innate tragicomedy of this unique audiobook with verve. He can sound serious and earnest one moment, sardonic and funny the next. Phil Snyder is a man already living a complex personal, professional, and intellectual life when he wakes up hung over, missing chunks of the night before, only to be confronted later with compromising photographs of himself to fill in those holes. Summerer's alacrity with the vocal twists of plot and dialogue is excellent, making for a solid listen. L.B.F. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine