THE BIRTHDAY ROOM

The slow, easy pace of music and narration that opens THE BIRTHDAY ROOM establishes just the right expectant tone. On his twelfth birthday, Benjamin Hunter receives a room of his own, in which to paint, from his parents and an unexpected invitation to visit Eugene, Oregon, from his long lost Uncle Ian. Ben feels pressured by the expectations inherent in the first gift, intrigued by the possibilities of the second. Terrence Mann's narration, graced by a slight drawl and a contemplative, gentle pace, is a lovely match for this quiet story of Ben's trip. Uncle Ian's deeply felt desire to reconnect, to teach Ben his hard-earned truths about art and life, shine through Mann's reading, as does the delightful innocence of Ian's 5-year-old twin neighbors. Most of all, Ben's own fresh eagerness to grab the world by the collar, his longing for a bigger world of experience as he comes into adolescence, is finely captured. T.B. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC/JAN 01]