GIGOLO

Does anyone still read Edna Ferber? Her best novels--SHOW BOAT, SO BIG, GIANT, CIMARRON--hold up pretty well, but her short stories, as in this audiobook collection, show their age. Written just after WWI, they are solidly embedded in their own historical moment. The performances by a rotating cast are uniformly strong. Stefan Rudnicki stands out for the depth and resonance of his voice, but Joe Barrett and Gabrielle de Cuir are just as good at interpreting the text. The stories mostly focus on family and romantic relationships and their problems, and in that regard, at least, they do retain their freshness and relevance even when the settings are dated. Note: "gigolo" has shifted in its meaning since 1922. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2022]