JEWEL

With a slow, warm drawl, Celia Weston transports the listener to the rich landscapes and pervasive humidity of rural Mississippi. Lott's saga of hardship and family struggle comes to life through Weston's heartfelt reading. Lott writes lyrically of the difficult upbringing and eventual triumph of Jewel as her family comes to grips with its own past and the reality of raising a developmentally disabled child. Weston brings emotion and life to the strong-willed heroine and those whose lives are inextricably tied to hers. An expert abridgment leaves the tender story intact, following the family across many miles, and almost seventy years, in four short tapes without missing a beat. H.L.S. © AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 99]