PENGUIN ISLAND

A foolish, old priest with weak eyes comes upon an island full of penguins. They look like people to him, so he baptizes them. This creates a crisis in heaven; God and the saints have to decide whether to give the penguins souls. From there France runs us through the history of the great penguin race, and if the birds weren’t so venal and ridiculous, you too might mistake them for people. First published in 1908, this satire is certainly not contemporary, but it is, nevertheless, very fine stuff. France won the Nobel Prize, and this was considered his masterpiece. Frederick Davidson gives a strong, but conventional reading. B.H.C. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/MAR 01]