EVGENII ONEGIN

Because this is a novel in verse, its audio rendition requires especially focused listening. The text's impact comes as much from plot and character as from the all-important persona Pushkin creates to tell the tale. Neville Jason recounts the unfortunate Onegin's story in the voice of an overly tolerant uncle--often amused but sometimes saddened or surprised by the unpredictable behavior of a favorite nephew. In addition, this translation uses a fair amount of rhyme, which, coupled with Jason's avuncular persona, suggests a nineteenth-century Russian Dr. Seuss. However, given Pushkin's likely goal of mocking social mores of the time and exposing shallow behavior, that matter-of-fact avuncular voice sounds just right--self-possessed, didactic, and a little distant. L.X. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2013]