GERMINAL

This sometimes depressing novel about late-nineteenth-century labor problems in France focuses on the coal mine--a life of dangerous work, starvation wages, impoverished futures. A newcomer to the labor force attempts improvement through worker resistance, including a strike with unforseen and tragic consequences. Few readers of audiobooks can match Frederick Davidson’s remarkable skill, and he needs all of it to cope with French pronunciations and divergent conversations, which require him to distinguish among many characters. Happily, he’s equal to the task, rendering this complex, yet worthwhile, novel accessible to all listeners. T.H. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: NOV/DEC 96]