MY WORLD–AND WELCOME TO IT

The crudely drawn cartoon shows a dinner party at table, wine glasses raised. The host says, "It’s a naive domestic Burgundy without any breeding, but I think you’ll be amused by its presumption." If you think that’s funny, then you’ll love this selection by one of America’s greatest humorists. Unfortunately, Thurber’s cartoons can’t be represented on tape, but his essays and stories are plenty good. Tony Award winner John Cullum’s Southern, bucolic sound only uneasily expresses the epitome of New York urbanity. And, although Cullum at times applies some puckish imagination to his readings, he gives a rather colorless performance to the work as a whole. Y.R. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 99]