THE ODASEA A Night Sea Journey

As audiobooks become more and more popular, niche publishers and independents continue to enter the market. This "epic narrative" by feminist/lesbian poet and performer Jean-Vi Lenthe is a good example. It's a mythical, mildly erotic, Odyssey-like (Homer's being one of the great templates of all world literature) telling of an all-female world in which the heroine's travels teach her to balance masculine and feminine traits. It's all delivered in verse. While it's probably not for everybody, it's not supposed to be. Lenthe found the resources to record, package, and market her own work, so more power to her. My advice for this piece would be the same as for any other: Visit the Web site, listen to a couple MP3 samples, and decide whether this is for you. The listener might be surprised to hear what independent producers have to offer. B.P.
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 04]