MUTANT MESSAGE FROM FOREVER

Its title sounds like sci-fi. But this gem is actually about Australian Aborigines. Read perfectly by Patricia Conolly, the story tells of aboriginal twins taken from their mother at birth and details their search for their roots as adults. Conolly reads with authority and deep understanding. She captures the emotions--longing, alienation, fear--with well-timed pauses, vocal crescendos, and during the most harrowing passages, a laser-like accusatory tone. Indeed, the book is uncomfortable at times because of the mistreatment the twins receive, separately, in the name of "civilizing" them. By the way, the mutants in the title are Westerners; Aborigines are called the "Real People." R.I.G. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 99]