The Witch in the Wood & the Ill-Made Knight

Images of leprechauns and clover may dance in listeners' heads after listening to Neville Jason's reading of the second part of White's Once and Future King . Jason amplifies the twee aspect of his reading to an overwhelming extent, sounding like a parody of an Irishman at times—a strange fit for this most famous of English stories. When Jason settles down, and cuts back on the whimsy, his reading proceeds far better, settling into a comfortable routine. But such periods, however long they may last, are inevitably interrupted by Jason's simpering and cooing. The fault may possibly lie with White, and his taste for overripe dialogue, but listening to Jason read it is more of a challenge than simply reading it on the page. (June)