SOUNDS OF THE RIVER

In part two of a trilogy, Da Chen's memoirs focus on his years at university in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution in communist China. A country farm boy, Chen struggles to catch up to his classmates as they study English, with Chen rising to the top of his class. Appropriately, Daxing Zhang reads Chen's words in the voice of a nonnative English speaker. Zhang struggles with the pronunciation of unfamiliar words at times, and his pace is slightly off, with emphasis often oddly placed. That said, the pair provide an interesting window into the world of communist China and what it takes to move ahead in a country where hard work, party politics, and the power of a bribe can determine the future. H.L.S. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 02]