BY SORROW'S RIVER

Molina reads in soft-spoken, comfortable tones that make the listener's experience relaxing, as well as entertaining. McMurtry continues his saga of Lord Berrybender and his four willful daughters, his haughty mistress, and their inept servants. As these characters meet up with real historical figures like Kit Carson, Charles Bent, and Pomp Charbonneau, the ironies, vanities, and tragedies of the West are revealed. Alfred Molina finds unique male and female voices for McMurtry's finely drawn cast. He precisely captures Tasmin Berrybender Snow's frosty temperament and her primitive frontiersman, Jim's, frustration and bewilderment. Molina's accents for everyone from Sioux war chief to English journalist and French aristocrat are perfect and engaging. S.C.A. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 04]