COLONEL CHABERT

Part of Balzac's COMDIE HUMAINE, this novella comes to an ending that either is or is not a happy one, depending on how you think about it. Narrator Bill Homewood's deep, resonant voice--suitably lightened for female characters--carries us along as Chabert, a Napoleonic hero mistakenly listed as having been killed in battle, returns to Paris and tries to reclaim his life. Balzac did not much admire the upper classes, but Homewood only occasionally uses voices and accents to caricature them. The text makes them seem awful enough without his help. The author drew on a wide range of emotions, and this narrator brings them all out evocatively but without unnecessary exaggeration. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2021]