THE DEVIL AND MISS PRYM

A mysterious stranger in the company of the devil comes to the mountain village of Viscos with 11 bars of gold and a Faustian bargain for the entire town. He confides to Chantal Prym, the local bartender, the particulars about his murderous offer, intended in his eyes to crystallize the struggle between good and evil. Coelho's parable (first published in Europe in 1992) poses a morality test for Viscos in a way that recalls works like Mark Twain's "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg" and Chaucer's "The Pardoner's Tale." Linda Emond's effective reading is lightly characterized. This self-effacing, low-key performance accords with the fable-like quality of the novel and makes Coelho's morality tale personal and absorbing. G.H. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 06/ JAN 07]