LITTLE WOMEN

Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March, familiar to so many of us, bring their sweetness and moral lessons to audio. The four girls and their mother struggle with war-induced poverty and self-imposed virtue, overridden by a sense of love and family. C.M. Herbert reads the story with the gentle affection and conviction one imagines in Jo March as she reads to her elderly aunt. Her characterizations receive a light touch, distinguishing each sister from the others without actually performing. Herbert allows her amusement and sadness to show at appropriate moments but maintains an overall detachment from the text that suits its soft formality to perfection. R.P.L. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 02]