Accordian Crimes
By E. Annie Proulx
Simon & Schuster Audio,
$25, 5 hours
ISBN 0671521306
Review by Sukey Howard
E. Annie Proulx is one of my favorite writers and Edward Hermann one of my favorite readers. Her deft storytelling and his accomplished characterizations are a winning combo as this audio presentation of Proulx's new novel proves. Accordion Crimes is a series of stories linked by a small, green accordion made in Sicily over 100 years ago by a man who dreamed of the golden opportunities of "L'America" and who found only hard work and hatred. As Proulx follows the increasingly battered instrument across the country and across time, she immerses her listeners in the lives of the various immigrants who happen upon it and use it to sing the songs of the old country and the new-a German settling a tract of farmland in the Midwest, a Mexican in Texas, an orphan in Maine, a Basque and an Irishman in Montana, a Cajun family in Louisiana, a second generation Polish couple in Chicago. Wonderful accordion music punctuates the stories from the bitter beginning to the bittersweet end.
Sukey Howard reports on spoken word audio each month. Don't miss her appearances on CNN, where she is their regular audio reviewer. Catch Sukey on Sunday, July 21 on the morning show, 8:30 a.m. EST.
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