BARCHESTER TOWERS

David Shaw-Parker's exemplary reading of Trollope's masterpiece is like sitting in your club in a comfortable chair after a good meal and listening to one of the particularly good-natured other members tell you a story about some people he knows. His tone is confiding and personal, perfectly capturing the spirit of Trollope's narrative voice. There’s no attempt to impersonate characters; Shaw-Parker's voice changes just enough that we are never in doubt who is speaking or what kind of person the speaker is. (The unctuous Mr. Slope is particularly fine.) There are occasional peculiar changes in the sound quality for a phrase or two, but these are minor distractions from a charming and witty performance. D.M.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2014]