FRANKENSTEIN

Listeners who only know the movie version will be surprised by the orotund writing and convoluted plot of the original Frankenstein novel by Mary Shelley. Victor Frankenstein, the Swiss who experiments with science and creates a monster, is a long-winded, angst-ridden fellow. The angst is understandable, though, given the mess he makes. The gentlemanly voiced Ralph Cosham ably communicates the tone of early nineteenth-century Europe, in which the novel was written; one can almost hear the swish of long skirts and the rumble of carriage wheels. Cosham has a precise yet fluid style of narrating that makes Shelley's elaborate writing easy to listen to. An interesting listen. A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 03]