LYDDIE

Alyssa Bresnahan's "no-frills" delivery would have suited young Lyddie Worthen, the memorable title character in Paterson's novel of nineteenth-century New England factory life. The narration is plainspoken and unadorned like Lyddie herself. Without music, special effects or vocal characterizations, Bresnahan effectively evokes scenes of grim working conditions and the distinctive personalities of the working girls. Her sensitive reading dignifies Lyddie's struggles to earn some measure of financial security, to pull together the remnants of her family and to find her own place in the world. D.M.L. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: JAN 94]