SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS

Rich in melody and wordplay, Shakespeare's sonnets are, of all his work, the best-suited to audio production--while also the most demanding in vocal delivery and interpretation. Woven through the sonnets, though in no organized or consecutive manner, is the most amazing personal story, a love triangle that's funny, shocking and weird--baring, or seeming to, the author's most intimate secrets. Right now some very good audio versions of the sonnets are available. The sonnets weren't written to be intimate, but insinuating, and the voice they call for is both frank and playful--not whining, but robust, humorous, sly. Best in that regard is Dover's SHAKESPEAR'S SONNETS in the Listen and Read series of a single cassette with an unabridged paperback. Brian Murray reads with the kind of butch bravado and whiskey gravel that you feel Shakespeare himself would have voiced in his poems. The selection is excellent, and Murray packs a lot of sonnets onto a single tape. At $6.95 for book and cassette, this is one of the best audiobook bargains on the market. D.W. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 00]