THE ANIMAL WIFE

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas uses a blend of scholarship and imagination to project the listener into a richly detailed reconstruction of the physical and spiritual life of a Stone Age community. No dry intellectual exercise, the story is a vivid first-person narrative well suited to reading aloud. As always, Frank Muller’s distinctive sound and manner make it clear why he’s one of the superstars of audiobooks. Occasionally, however, his distinctiveness threatens to become distracting when he brings the full weight of his dark intensity to bear on passages of simple exposition. An occasional lightening of tone would be welcome. J.N. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 00]