THE ALL-TRUE TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES OF LIDIE NEWTON

Narrator Anna Fields does a great job with this book. Her characters have life and emotions, and she reads the author's words flawlessly. Fields's voice can sometimes sound like she's reading through clenched teeth, but she loses most of that after the second chapter. Character voices allow her to be freer with her diction, loosening up her presentation. She doesn't really use her full repertoire of voices here, but they're not necessary. The men sound basically the same, but we get the idea. Fields does give Lidie Newton a bit of a drawl, but because Lidie is somewhat educated, her voice is also assured and straightforward. The story is a good one, incorporating romance, adventure and the debate over abolition against the backdrop of Bloody Kansas in the 1850's. R.I.G. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC/JAN 99]