THE PURSUIT OF WILLIAM ABBEY

Narrator Peter Kenny shows his incredible range in this world-hopping tribute to "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," in which the titular character is cursed by the shadow of a person whose life he did not save. To outrun the shadow, William Abbey travels the world, and this allows Kenny to use a myriad of accents, smoothly transitioning from one to the next. Because he is telling a story within a story, Kenny must change perspectives quickly, and here he especially shines. As the story moves from Abbey's perspective to that of the nun who hears his tale, the listener actually forgets the narrator is the same person as before. As the tension ratchets up, Kenny hooks the listener. Be prepared to stay up late into the night to reach the end. A.R.F. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2020]