MARCEL PROUST

Seasoned narrator Barbara Rosenblat mars her reading of this biography by making a fetish of her pronunciation of French names. Before each one, she pauses slightly as if to get a running leap at it, pounces on the name theatrically, then pauses slightly. Because MARCEL PROUST naturally contains many French names, such showiness is a regular annoyance. Listeners who can overlook this misplaced drama from an otherwise excellent reader will find the deftly distilled biography a valuable prelude to REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST, Proust's seven-volume masterpiece. T.F. © AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 99]