GREAT EXPECTATIONS

A frustrated actor, Dickens himself entertained thousands in England and America with readings from his own books. But would his reading of GREAT EXPECTATIONS be better than this one? Most certainly. Dickens requires gusto; Haley deadens the text through a tiresome ecclesiastical-sounding tone. Combining his own American voice for Pip's first-person narration with generic British voices for the other characters, Haley inflicts aural schizophrenia on the novel. In addition, he regularly stumbles over words and mistimes the rhythms inherent in Dickens's elaborate sentences. P.W. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG 93]