A MIXTURE OF FRAILTIES

A mother posthumously stifles her son but grants a stranger spectacular opportunity. Third in a trilogy, yet independently satisfying, this presentation encourages listeners to seek more of Davies’s beguiling prose. Will the audience pursue other narrations by Frederick Davidson? Fate, and what individuals do with it or in spite of it, are prevalent themes in Davies’s writing, and a voice so incessantly rich and erudite as Davidson’s poses an apropos question: Does Mr. Davidson have to work harder to overcome the gift of his deep, mellifluous tones? He reads expressively as various characters, yet his golden voice never actually seems to modulate. However, the words somehow outshine the voice delivering them, as they should. What power, yet whose: Davidson’s or Davies’s? D.J. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: MAR/APR 98]