GYPSY RIZKA

Versatility is the key to superb narration in this comic fantasy, with its cavalcade of characters living in the mythical land of Greater Dunitsa. Ron Keith more than rises to the task with his precise British diction and the spirited band of characters he sets forth: orphaned gypsy trickster Rizka, surly and villainous Chief Councilor Sharpnack, and warm-hearted Old Franko, who is, Rizka discovers, her father by love if not biology. Keith's animated reading further enlivens the boisterous events in a village of kindly but clueless souls looking for a way to get on in the world and foiled at every turn by an enchanting young vixen--part good-natured trifler and part wise woman--but surely a heroine to love. T.B. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 00]