LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI

Listeners who enjoyed Grover Gardner’s narrations of HUCKLEBERRY FINN and TOM SAWYER will savor this journey down the mighty Mississippi with the author of those American classics. Twain’s experiences as a young steamboat pilot, recounted herein, would inform the novels that cemented his reputation. Gardner’s easy familiarity with Twain’s style is evident once more: He captures all the author’s wit and wordplay as well as his colorful descriptions of the era just before the Civil War. Gardner gives some rollicking performances as he brings to life the book’s memorable characters, with their gruff voices and varied accents. The text can be as meandering as the river itself, but Gardner’s first-rate narration keeps the listener on course. D.B. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2011]