MAGGIE: A GIRL OF THE STREETS AND OTHER NEW YORK STORIES

Crane's muscular prose and gritty dialogue are well served by Terry Bregy and Melissa Hughes, the readers who take turns narrating these four stories. Although neither is a natural storyteller, both display their talents to best advantage when character voices are needed. And vivid characters abound in Crane's crowded working-class New York, scenes crafted with haiku-like precision. The sounds of drunken despair, savage street banter and raucous love come to us with an immediacy one usually associates with the stage. Listening to this program is akin to leaning out a window in turn-of-the-century New York and eavesdropping on life itself. T.M. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 97]