A RARE RUBY

Young Ruby Jenkins struggles with abject poverty in a post-WWI suburb of London. Her shell-shocked father can't work, her mother works herself to death taking in laundry, her little brother falls into a life of crime, and her boyfriend skips town for Scotland. Kim Hicks offers a spirited rendering of a classic tale, complete with its predictably happy ending. Her characters are easily identifiable, but in a clichéd way. Young Tommy squeaks almost unbearably every time he opens his mouth, and the various men sound either congested or mentally challenged. Ruby's friends and neighbors all speak with exaggerated accents, and, oddly, only the town whore has a refined and pleasing voice. R.P.L. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 03]