AUDIO

Philomena: A Mother, Her Son, and a Fifty-Year Search

by Martin Sixsmith
13 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 15½ hrs. Recorded Bks. 2013. ISBN 9781470392802. $123.75; 2 MP3-CDs. library ed.; Playaway digital; digital download. SOC SCI
COPY ISBN
Originally published in 2009, this is the true story of Irishwoman Philomena Lee and the child she gave up for adoption. Unlike the Oscar-nominated film of the same name, which focuses on the unwed mother's search 50 years later for her son, the book is concerned with the child's adult life and his struggles with his sexuality. Michael Anthony Hess, the toddler adopted by an American couple in 1955, grew up to become a gay Republican lawyer who died of AIDS at the age of 43. English actor John Curless provides a clear and well-paced narration, with a foreword by Dame Judi Dench (who stars in the film).
VERDICT Of interest to fans of mother-child tales or family drama. ["Sixsmith's narrative, while emotionally compelling, lacks context and verges at times on the sensationalistic, with invented dialog and narration," read the review of the Penguin hc, LJ 9/1/13.]
Reviewed by Denise A. Garofalo, Mount Saint Mary Coll. Lib., Newburgh, NY , Apr 01, 2014
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