THE BLUE FLOWER

One cannot find fault with Edmund Dehn's reading of this book. His approach to the German characters is deferential. He has respect for the aging, for men and women alike; and his delivery is so focused that the listener shares his attitudes. At the end of the eighteenth century, young and brilliant Fritz von Hardenberg, a graduate of three universities, falls in love with 12-year-old Sophie von Kuhn. His family is displeased. Much philosophical talk ensues. Our difficulty is trying to place the people in the novel. In the German manner, each person is given a name, a title and a familiar moniker. (Sophie is "Zofchen" and "Tsufel.") Dehn is serious and completely honest in his reading, but without knowledge of German, the listener has to scurry to place the difference between die Freiherr von Hardenberg and Fritz's father. J.P. © AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/MAR 00]