ROB ROY

Reader Robbie Coltrane has come into prominence recently for his role in the James Bond movie, Goldeneye. He reads Rob Roy with low-voiced, guttural, impassioned authenticity. His Scottish accents are so thick one could dig chunks out with a spoon--so thick, in fact, that the American ear has trouble making out the words. If the listener takes the trouble and isn't driving or working on something else, the reward is worthwhile, but it isn't easy. The story is too heavily abridged for my taste, too; a certain jerkiness in the narrative is noticeable. But the classic tale of the Jacobite rising of 1715 fascinates, once understood. D.W. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 98]