THE FAMOUS ADVENTURES OF JACK

Sometimes one listens to a recording simply to follow a story to its conclusion. Not so with Doherty’s THE FAMOUS ADVENTURES OF JACK. This is a recording to listen to again and again--to catch the subtleties in the story and to appreciate the interconnectedness between the many relations of Jack and the many giants who were slain. Prunella Scales is a marvelous narrator for this collection. Her soothing voice invites the listener to come into Mother Greenwood’s cottage and join the shadowy giants of the past who are listening to tales of their exploits. Scales lets the clues unfold, and the stories tell themselves. Her intonation and manner appear effortless as the giants are slain and the reputations of all the Jacks grow. She can tell a story as easily in a cat’s voice as a human’s. Let yourself be carried off to a world of castles and keys, the daft and the clever, and princesses and crystal lakes. There might even be a beanstalk. A.R. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 01]