SELECTED SHORTS Family Matters

These seven stories, read by professional actors and originally aired on public radio's "Selected Shorts," focus mostly on children. Both stories and readings tend to excellence. The sound is a bit hollow, but one ceases to notice almost immediately. Among the narrators, Robert Sean Leonard disappoints somewhat; halting awkwardness and wrong emphases make it seem as if he's reading his story for the first time before the mike. There are a few other off moments, misread or misaccented lines. But Jill Eikenberry's and Linda Lavin's lively readings are beyond quibble, as are stories by Shirley Jackson, Grace Paley, and Diane Leslie. Malachy McCourt's note-perfect performance of a Frank O'Connor classic about a boy's first communion is especially delightful. This program is a nearly unalloyed pleasure. W.M. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 07/ JAN 08]