SWANN IN LOVE

Reading Proust's great work, REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST, may be daunting, but listening--at least to the first part of the seven-section novel (albeit abridged) -- is a riveting experience, an insightful, often funny, poetical exploration of character, place, emotion and idea. In SWANN IN LOVE, Neville Jason spins out Charles Swann's tale of hapless love and jealousy. Only slightly jarring is Jason's Francoise, the maid who speaks with a bit of an Irish brogue, and a stuffy old gentleman who sounds like a British colonel. But overall, Jason is a master at characterizing the multitude of voices and guides us seamlessly through time. After such a short, yet exquisite, sampling of this classic, we are tantalized and long to continue with the narrator IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME. J.H.L. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: NOV/DEC 96]