TALES FROM EDGAR ALLAN POE, VOLUME 1

[Editor's note: The following is a combined review of TALES FROM EDGAR ALLAN POE, Volumes I and II.]--These two volumes offer a healthy sampling of Poe’s shorter works, from “The Cask of Amontillado” to the poem “Annabel Lee” to “The Masque of the Red Death.” Patrick Lawlor performs the bulk of the production, and Grover Gardner drops in only for “Amontillado.” A more balanced distribution between the two narrators would have served this production better. Gardner’s reading of “Amontillado” is dramatic and sinister, and it is clear to the listener that he has a true understanding of the text. On the other hand, Lawlor seems to only be reading the text aloud rather than truly inhabiting it. True, it’s a very good reading, but Lawlor hurtles through the stories, seemingly more concerned with even pacing and proper diction than the drama of the words themselves. A.H.A. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2012]