TAR BABY

Valerian and Margaret seem to have everything on their Caribbean Island, where they are attended by Ondine and Sydney, their loyal black servants. When Sydney and Ondine's niece, Paris-educated Jadine, visits, she enjoys guest privileges, while her aunt and uncle continue to serve. Crashing their genteel charade, Son, a desperate black man on the run, forces them to confront the truth of their lives. Turmoil unfolds in a world of magical realism, in which butterflies worry about baby seals being made into a coat, avocados have opinions, and myth is alive in the trees. Desirée Coleman's voice is as lush as the tropical rain-forest Morrison creates. In the book's moodier moments, Coleman manages a dark edginess. Her performance adds sensuousness to the magic, reflecting Morrison's hypnotic vision of the vagaries of the human heart. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 03]