LARRY'S PARTY

Having narrated abridged versions of all three of her books, Carol Shields has become a real pro. In the last chapter of Larry's Party, she gracefully meets a narrator challenge--the chaotic half-sentences and interruptions of a ten-guest dinner party. She even makes it sound easy. In the novel Larry is the quintessential "ordinary guy"--and, at first, this reader had trouble caring about him. But under Shields's careful tendering, Larry, a gardener with a specialty in maze-making, becomes almost amazing. In her narration, Shields treats Larry with the same gentle care with which she created him. "Life is a book each of us must write alone," one of Larry's wives tells him. As this dreamy young man being tugged along by life grows into middle age, the listener is surprised to discover having grown fond of him. E.K.D. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: NOV/DEC 97]