THE SEEKERS

At first, Donald Monat sounds as if he's doing a bad impersonation of a Shakespearean actor, trilling his "R's" and drawing out his vowels in a parody of literary gentility. And whatever else you might think of Monat's work, it is fair to ask if it's necessary to imbue a study of Western philosophy with a voice straight out of "Masterpiece Theatre"? Still, Monat is professional in his efforts. As one grows used to his vocal stylings, one notices that he does indeed heighten Boorstin's sometimes dense look at everything from, say, Socrates's injunctions against the written word to Thomas Aquinas's struggle to maintain his celibacy. In the final analysis, listening to Monat read THE SEEKERS makes the work come alive. D.W. © AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 99]