MCTEAGUE

This classic American novel of naturalism, the tragedy of a San Francisco dentist and his wife, was published in 1899, famously filmed by Erich von Stroheim as GREED in 1924, and brought to unabridged, multi-voiced audio in a definitive recording by L.A. Theatre Works. There is probably room, however, for a no-frills, lower-priced reading for rental customers, and this version by Jonathan Reese qualifies. His narration is clear, his voicing attentive and careful, if somewhat dry. He seems often to be delivering the text with the same distinct, announcer-like diction that he uses for the end-of-side notices to flip tapes. Tiresome for some, such an uninterpreted approach produces a reading others might wish to consider. G.H. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 01]