THE BIG GIRLS

The use of multiple narrators in this BBC production provides an interesting performance. This choice is logical as Moore's crime novel contains lots of dialogue and characters with distinct personalities. The story is mostly set at Sloatsbury Women's Prison, and the main characters include prisoners, the chief of psychiatry, corrections officers, and Angie, an ambitious Hollywood starlet. The narration is delivered in the alternating voices of four women: Helen, a schizophrenic inmate; Dr. Forrest, Captain Bradshaw, and Angie. The cast reads the hypnotic prose deftly. Voices are well suited to their credible and authentic characters. This heartbreaking novel feels like watching a train wreck that you can't stop. S.C.A. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 08]