MY ANTONIA

Robert G. Slade narrates this classic with warmth and wit. He delivers the voices of Bohemians, Norwegians, and Russian immigrants with subtlety and captures the cadences of young and old. His storytelling manner gives a sense of reality to this immigrant story about foreign families settling in Nebraska, where their new lives require hard work and they sometimes receive a cool reception. Antonia is one of American literature's most striking heroines--strong, independent, spirited, and motherly, she survives and prevails. Seen through the admiring eyes of narrator Jim Burden, her story, his, and those of the other main characters are delivered with fine shading by Slade. Aside from a prejudiced portrait of a mulatto pianist, this paean to nineteenth-century prairie life remains fresh and worthy of one's time. A.D.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2020]