HUNGRY HILL

Maureen O'Brien's warm, lilting voice enchants in this early Daphne du Maurier. The fortunes and fates of five generations of an Anglo-Irish family are bound to their copper mine on Hungry Hill. Beginning with the first stubborn patriarch, O'Brien brings each of the many characters vividly to life--that gruff patriarch; the forthright first-born son; the petulant, lazy second-born; and so on. This is an old-fashioned, slow-paced tale--not on a par with du Maurier's more famous books, such as REBECCA and JAMAICA INN. Yet it's worth a listen for O'Brien's melodious narrative voice and exquisite acting. (Even a sleepy 6-year-old sounds perfect as he talks through a yawn). A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 02]