The Short Reign of Pippin IV

I’ll admit: I approached *Pippin IV* skeptical that Steinbeck could pull off satire. The man who wrote *Of Mice and Men* doing farce? But within minutes, Jefferson Mays’ performance sold me. His Pippin is a marvel—a schlubby, warm-hearted astronomer who reacts to his sudden kingship with the same panic you’d expect if your boss handed you a live grenade. Mays nails the physical comedy in Steinbeck’s writing, too; you can *hear* Pippin’s eye-rolls when his advisors spout nonsense, or the way his voice climbs an octave as he’s dragged into yet another royal absurdity. The supporting cast—especially the sycophantic Prime Minister and the revolutionaries-turned-courtier-leeches—are voiced with such distinct flair that I occasionally paused to laugh, something I rarely do with audiobooks. That said, the pacing isn’t perfect. The middle act sags slightly as Steinbeck indulges in extended riffs on French bureaucracy (a sequence about a *Commission on the Commission* is funny but overlong). And while the ending is thematically satisfying, it feels abrupt, as if Steinbeck got bored with his own joke. Still, these are quibbles. The real triumph is how *Pippin IV* balances its humor with a biting critique of power—one that feels downright prophetic in an era of performative politics. Mays’ narration elevates it further, turning what could’ve been a dusty literary curiosity into a vibrant, urgent listen. If you love *Catch-22*’s absurdity or *The Mouse That Roared*’s charm, this is your next obsession—just don’t listen while drinking wine, unless you want to snort it out your nose.