THERESE RAQUIN

English actor Juliet Stevenson's nuanced performance of this classic tale of obsession lures listeners into a nineteenth-century Parisian storefront, where lust and shadows lurk. Unhappily married to her sickly cousin, Camille, and working in her aunt's dingy clothing store, Thérèse Raquin starts an affair with Camille's colleague. After murdering Camille, the lovers are haunted to the point of madness by their crime. Stevenson's straightforward narration exemplifies Zola's famously scientific approach to storytelling, which studied "temperaments, not personalities." The book has little dialogue, releasing Stevenson from inventing French accents, but when needed, her pronunciation of the Parisian streets and neighborhoods is perfect. Her vibrant alto pitch, crystalline enunciation, and expressive reading enliven Zola's descriptive writing, sending listeners deep into Paris's underworld. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2022]