THE SHADOW-LINE

At 57, with his son Borys on the Western Front at the start of the Great War, Conrad wrote of another young man embarking on a life-altering adventure, his first command. The youthful but nameless narrator is full of fresh naïveté, and the next three harrowing weeks test every ounce of strength, courage, and humanity the young captain has. Is this Conrad’s letter to his son, encouraging him to face his trials with a manly heart? Possibly. Fred Williams’s mature, gravelly voice carries all the weight of age and experience as surely as if the graying Conrad himself were, years later, telling the tale of his own first command. It is a harrowing but heartwarming story read with the wizened dignity that only an older reader can create. Let’s hear more from Fred Williams. P.E.F. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 04]