GOODBYE TO BERLIN

British-born Christopher Isherwood mined a lot of literary gold from his decadent, bohemian youth in Weimar Berlin, most notably the autobiographical novel here, affectionately narrated by Alan Cumming. Cumming clearly enjoys this work, which is nicely suited to his strengths--theatricality, characterization, exuberance, facility with the German accent. If there's a flaw, it's that he falls short of showing us a Sally Bowles as captivating as the author's--or, for that matter, as Liza Minnelli's in Cabaret or Julie Harris's in I am a Camera, both dramatic adaptations of Goodbye. Y.R. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: NOV/DEC 97]