FROM THE DUST RETURNED

You can talk about your family reunions all you want, but know that Bradbury can top you with this audiobook. Using some stories he wrote over 50 years ago, he has concocted a Halloween homecoming of all manner of creatures, with varying degrees of what might be called "human-ness," many of them thousands of years old. There's Cecy, who can slip into other (real) people's minds and make them do what she wants them to do; Uncle Einar, an eight-footer with wings who wants to teach foundling Timothy to fly; Grand Mere, a mummy occupying the attic who recalls her times in Egypt. Obviously the book requires some suspension of disbelief, but it is, for the most part, charming and, for the most part, well read. John Glover combines distance and involvement, amazement and amusement, with lots of drama. Bradbury's millions of fans will love his stunning writing and be pleased that his metaphors and, especially, his verbs are nicely captured by Glover. T.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 02]