ROBINSON CRUSOE

Say you were spending the evening at your exclusive club on London's Pall Mall, where a slightly stuffy middle-aged gentleman begins regaling you with stories of his youthful adventures marooned on an uninhabited island. His language is studied--obviously he has told this tale before--his voice manly, manner stoic and slightly ironic. You find yourself hanging on his every word. That is the sort of impression that Martin Shaw makes with his Apollonian treatment of this excellent abridgment. This reviewer has not encountered the stiff-upper-lip Crusoe in his many other screen, stage, and audio incarnations. Not only does this Crusoe convince, but he adds a welcome freshness to the overfamiliar classic. An added plus, Shaw makes arcane and obscure expressions intelligible through superb cadence, phrasing, and understanding. Y.R. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/MAR 01]