Tilting at the Windmills of my Mind


HUMOR:  This audiobook is a series of short little vignettes that offer a glimpse into the author’s perspective on various subjects.  Topics range from gun control in Gotham City, to a fateful meeting of the great-great-grandchildren of a former plantation master and his slave, to the upcoming death of a dog, to racial stereotypes involving an NBA player’s daughter, and a cop with Alzheimer’s.  There is a thought-provoking sketch equating the receivers of the spoils of Robin Hood to the recipients of welfare.  This audiobook gives the listener the chance to open their mind to other distinct possibilities about various topics, some of which might differ from the listener’s own perspective.  

Because of the nature of this audiobook, characters are not fully fleshed out.  However, the motivations of the various characters are as clear as possible given the rapid glimpse the listener receives.  This author did an excellent job of making each point clearly, given the brevity of the material.  The book moves along smartly; the listener is often still reflecting on the message of one story when the next one has already started.  There isn’t really a story arc, but rather a series of miniature story arcs.  

There are dozens of characters voiced in this audiobook.  Although each vignette is short (around one to three minutes long), they are distinctly separated with a new title between each story.  The narrator expresses voices that range from cartoon characters to German citizens to a young ninja, and encompasses various expressions of young, old, animal, human, philosopher and inventor.  Multiple periods are touched upon, as these vignettes touch the distant past, the middle-past and more recent times.  This is an oddly fascinating glimpse of life told with humor and heart.  The recording quality is excellent and there aren’t any unexpected noises.

Carey Sullivan