Comprehension is not the same when heard.

To his great credit, my work friend to whom I recommended " '—All You Zombies—' " has already read it, and talked to me about it.

The problem may be that, by "read it", I mean that, "He listened to it."

He's a smart dude. Reading comprehension isn't a problem for him.

Still, he said that he got lost once the time travel element of the story actually started.

Since he already listened to the whole story, and the story was published in the 1950s, I took the risk of tipping the entire twist of the story by asking him, "Did you understand that Jane, The Unmarried Mother, and The Barkeep were all the same person?"

He didn't. He looked as if he had had an epiphany.

I've never liked the idea of audio books. Marshall McLuhan, an author who we've both read, argued that books are a cold medium. Books being read to you while you're driving seems to be a futile attempt to transform books into a hot medium.

"You know who she is. And you understand who you are. Maybe you're ready to understand who I am."

I can see how that line could fly past you if you're listening to it while you're driving.