Surprising in its sensitivity, creativity, and heart, The Johnsons: The Eyes of Penn by Richard Carlton London is an entertaining and innovative literary experience about a resilient group of passionate musicians navigating the tricky landscape of success, happiness, and morality. Beyond the engaging plot, this audiobook is specifically tailored for those with listening and cognitive challenges, giving it an added level of appeal.
A local rock bank in Philadelphia, The Johnsons have four very unique members – Charts the bass player, JJ on guitar, Frankie on lead vocals, and Hoss the drummer. With a huge payoff on the table from a potential festival in Indiana, the band needs to get their act together and hand their demo tape to the right person, but that may be easier said than done. Between late-night robberies, a sky-high jumper, predatory Philadelphia power brokers, and a perennially tardy drummer, the journey from jamming at the Chicken Shack to their big-time payday is far from easy.
Driven by richly developed characters and charged with unexpected explosions of conflict and drama, the plot is easy to follow, albeit somewhat slow to develop through the first several chapters. The summaries at the start of each chapter are helpful touch points for review and preparation, ensuring that listeners miss anything along the way, and the sections are short, usually 3-4 minutes in duration. Some seem unnecessarily brief, however, such as the relatively uneventful filler of Chapter 4, which could easily be combined with the following segment.
Far beyond paying lip service to accessibility in concerns in literature or otherwise, this audiobook series is specifically designed and recorded with its target viewers in mind. Without being patronizing or heavy-handed, London subtly and expertly crafts this straightforward story of courage and hope for those who may need to hear it most. That is a rare ability in any genre, but it is especially powerful in this context. London’s concept is original and will be highly appreciated by listeners who can confidently absorb the book without worrying about losing the thread, or delivery patterns that may be otherwise frustrating for cognitively challenged listeners.
The narrators are excellent for the characters and story format – gruff and silky guides that are more reminiscent of friends reading to you from the passenger seat, rather than professional but emotionally detached orators. There are a few instances of awkwardly pronounced words (“blouse,” “grasp,” and “rationally,” etc.), which a quick re-record or patch edit could fix, but the audio is generally clear and well-paced. Some listeners may struggle with the UK accents if they are unaccustomed, but they do make for a soothing audiobook experience.
There are some critiques to be made about the storytelling, including some eyebrow-raising judgments, such as the robber with a gun being immediately labeled a “druggie,” along with continued assumptions about the local neighborhood, the nearby populations, and their socioeconomic desperation. These themes are scattered throughout the book, and the conservative “chaos and crime” talking points don’t seem particularly relevant to the broader plot, limiting the appeal to some readers, while at the same time trying to be inclusive to readers of every cognitive level.
Aside from the need for a final editing and recording polish, and some shoehorned thematic issues, this is a gripping and rapidly immersive audiobook with an engaging cast of central characters.
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