TEN BY MAUGHAM

Ready for some math? KCRW gathered 11 top-notch performers to read 20 of Maugham's short stories on this ten-hour/ten-CD collection. The result is a wonderful portrait of the man and his writing that will delight fans and provide a pleasing introduction to the uninitiated. The stories, most written in a first-person memoir style and filled with social satire and probing human observations, express the author's sense of personal alienation alongside his hopeful message of individuality. Readers include Miriam Margolyes, Michael York, and Alfred Molina. Martin Jarvis gives moving readings of three stories, including the powerful "Alien Corn," about an assimilated Jewish family whose son struggles to find his identity in music. S.E.S. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 00]