THE LONGEST JOURNEY

While not as well-known as A Room With A View or A Passage to India, The Longest Day may be E.M. Forster's best novel. Jill Masters gives a superb interpretation of this complex, largely autobiographical novel, which offers insight into Forster's education, including a miserable public school experience and an idyllic Cambridge interlude in which friendship and philosophy are predominant. Masters offers a sympathetic reading. Her understanding of the characters and the complexities of their relationships comes across in their subtly individualized voices and in her phrasing of the dialogue. Overall, a clear and expressive presentation of an absorbing, thought-provoking novel. C.R.A. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 94]