THE AENEID

The ancient epics were the first audiobooks, and this outstanding production of Fagles’s new verse translation brings into clear, robust contemporary English a style of storytelling unfamiliar to most readers today. Nobody rolls an “r” or extenuates an “h” like Callow can, and his impeccable articulation captures the necessary bardic dignity and solemnity while keeping pace with this battle-packed tale of Aeneas’s wanderings following the defeat of Troy to eventually found the city of Rome. Subtly, with just the lightest musical touch, the interludes suggest a Roman setting and audience, a reading by the bard himself. As fresh as today’s wars in its storytelling, this modern evocation of the classical style is one of this year’s audiobook events. D.A.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 07]