THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE

Thomas Hardy's marvelous novel has all the elements of fine Shakespearean tragedy: a heroic figure who reaches a pinnacle of power, esteem and self-satisfaction, only to lose it all because of his folly and bad luck. Narrator John Rowe is superior in recounting the life of Michael Henchard. He captures the actual and the emotional rise and fall of Henchard perfectly and is even more compelling in reading the part of Henchard's friend, then enemy, Donald Farfrae. He's equally skilled with the roles of the two most important female characters and with the uneducated townsfolk who make up a kind of Greek chorus. All told, this is a must-listen audiobook: great story, great writing, great narrating. T. H. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/MAR 99]