SELECTED SHORTS VOL. XV Wishes & Dreams

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this series of stories read to a live audience is the audience. The home listener gets to hear where others laughed or drew a deep breath, reacting to the narrator. Especially enjoyable is the final story--Hope Davis's rendition of Laurie Colwin's "The Last Pilgrim," about a longtime single woman adjusting to happiness, but all five selections are excellent. Viola Davis brings great comic timing to Alice Walker's "Nineteen Fifty-Five," about a black singer's relationship with an Elvis-like performer who makes a hit out of one of her songs, and Bradley Whitford handles "Afternoon of the Sassanoa," about a tragic father-son boat trip, with poignancy. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 02/ JAN 03]