LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP

Bloom takes a pedantic look at modern romance with the same discerning eye he leveled at higher education in his classic The Closing of the American Mind. Here he draws on classical literature to argue that love has retrogressed to sex and friendship has largely vanished. This abridgment concentrates on Rousseau's writing, thus limiting the larger perspective of the tome. Reader Nicholas Kepros is a natural for interpreting Bloom's erudite theses. His voices walks the line between interesting and stuffy and conveys scholarship with a romantic fringe. Unfortunately, meaningless musical transitions compromise the program's scholastic validity without adding romance. Bloom's writing and Kepros's reading require concentration. D.W.K. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 94]